Ohio State football has made a very late addition from the transfer portal, and he comes from another major college football power
It turns out that the Ohio State Buckeyes are not done with the transfer portal.
The Ohio State Buckeyes aren’t done quite yet with additions from the transfer portal despite it being closed since mid January.
Ohio State saw 32 players from its 2025 team exit in the portal — and they had brought in 17 up until Tuesday afternoon when another new face announced he would be transferring to Columbus.
And off the initial reaction to Ohio State’s latest get from the transfer portal, it’s a puzzling addition to the team to say the least.
Former Notre Dame kicker transfers to Ohio State
Ex-Notre Dame K Marcello Diomede took to Instagram to announce he would be transferring to Ohio State. Landing Diomede gives the Buckeyes two kickers from the transfer portal with Baylor K Connor Hawkins already in the mix.
Diomede announced his intentions to transfer from Notre Dame on Dec. 26 ahead of the portal opening. The former Fighting Irish kicker appeared in 10 games over the last three seasons. Diomede played in six games in 2025 where he handled 16 kickoffs and made 2-of-3 extra point attempts.
Ohio State lost both starting K Jayden Fielding to graduation and backup Jackson Courville decided to transfer away. The Buckeyes are expected to start Hawkins in 2026, though there should be a healthy competition going on it appears.
Adding Diomede gives the Buckeyes another kicker with at least some experience behind Hawkins, who will be entering his redshirt sophomore season. Hawkins was notably 3-of-4 on kicks over 50 yards in 2025 and 18-of-22 overall.
The Buckeyes have one kicker coming in as a freshman and that’s Cooper Peterson from North Carolina. Peterson was a late add in the class for the Buckeyes and will redshirt in 2026 behind Hawkins and now Diomede it appears.
Diomede is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound Illinois native. The addition is a bit of a surprising one for Ohio State at this point on the calendar.
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