Ohio State football transfer portal addition made a major statement one SEC school isn’t going to like at all
The first year Buckeye is expected to be a standout on defense after playing multiple years in the SEC.
Ohio State is wrapping up its second week of spring practice and the first two weeks have offered a look at the new team the Buckeyes are rolling out in 2026. There are 51 new faces in total on the team and one transfer has already been impressing.
Former Alabama Crimson Tide DL James Smith has been a popular name through the first couple of weeks of practice. Smith is set to take over for Kayden McDonald in the middle of Ohio State’s defensive line, and he’ll have one final year in college where he chose to finish by being coached by Larry Johnson.
After spending three seasons with the Tide, Smith was part of an Alabama duo landing in Columbus with EDGE Qua Russaw. Though he hasn’t been at Ohio State long, Smith is already noticing some things.
Alabama transfer James Smith gets honest about what he thinks about Ohio State so far
“It kind of gave me that feeling back from when I visited as a freshman with Saban, it kind of felt like that a lot,” Smith said on Thursday. “I ain’t gonna lie, I came here and they ain’t lied to me one time. Nothing coach Larry Johnson told me, he told me it’s gonna be hard, I was okay with that.”
The comment by Smith first comes off as the feeling around the Ohio State program is something new he hasn’t been around since Saban was at Alabama. Smith’s comment could easily be taken as pointing out such feeling went away around the program with Kalen DeBoer as the head coach.
Smith was a five-star recruit in the class of 2023 for Alabama and played in 37 games over three seasons. In 2025, Smith had 28 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks for the Alabama defensive line. Ohio State thinks Smith can be a force for them by this fall with just one offseason with the program to finish out his college career.
There’s still a level to be unlocked with the 6-foot-2, 314-pound center, and former Ohio State S Caleb Downs played a role in getting him to Ohio State.
“He’s telling me like, “James this is really a good place. I feel like you will fit here.”
Ohio State lost key contributors like McDonald and Caden Curry from last year’s defense line. Then you have Downs, linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, as well as Davison Igibosun off to the NFL. Matt Patricia’s defense is going to have a lot of new faces playing major roles, and Smith is going to be one of them.
Expect other defensive tackles like UCF transfer John Walker, Eddrick Houston, Will Smith, and Jason Moore to round out the rest of the defensive tackle room in 2026. Smith already looks to be getting comfortable and his press conference showed a very outgoing individual. A bright season could be ahead for No. 3 on the defense.