The Ohio State Buckeyes need more than Jeremiah Smith to beat the Texas Longhorns on Saturday, and a transfer portal addition is the prime target to be just that.  

UTSA transfer wide receiver Devin McCuin looks like the player ready to answer the call. McCuin’s debut against Ball State was impressive, with six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown in Ohio State’s blowout win. 

The 6-foot, 195-pound receiver looked like he had been in the program for years, and now head coach Ryan Day is making it clear he expects McCuin to be a difference-maker on the road in one of the biggest games of the 2026 season.

Ryan Day sees a Chris Olave-type player in Devin McCuin

McCuin came to Ohio State from UTSA, where he originally arrived out of Jacksonville, Texas. The Longhorns had notable interest in McCuin during the transfer portal window, but Ohio State secured his commitment before anything substantial developed. That recruiting win could pay off in a big way this weekend with McCuin heading into the Longhorns’ backyard as a Buckeye.

Day didn’t hold back when discussing what he sees in McCuin and why Ohio State pursued him.

“I sort of thought to myself, he could sort of be like a Chris Olave type,” Day said of McCuin. “That was sort of the comp, and that was sort of the one that I used. He has high end speed. He can change direction. He’s got really strong hands, good quickness. What I didn’t know about him was just his makeup, and he’s very intelligent. Really good route runner. You know, he has experience.”

He has toughness. He sticks it in there in the run game, and he’s been great. And I think he really turned it on this summer. I think the spring was solid, better than solid. He was good in the spring, but had a great summer with Nick [Marotti] in the weight room, and then it’s just taken off from there. So all the things that we talked about in the preseason, you got a chance to see. But we brought him here to win games like this, so you know this will be a great challenge for him. But I know he’ll be excited about it.”

That comparison carries weight. Day drawing that parallel shows just how much confidence he has in McCuin’s ability to produce at an elite level.

Devin McCuin’s role is critical against Texas

Day saying he brought McCuin to Columbus “to win games like this” tells you everything about the expectation. Ohio State needs offensive firepower from more than one source to go on the road and pick up a victory against Texas, and McCuin projects as the Buckeyes’ second receiving option behind Smith. If McCuin can replicate what he showed against Ball State in a much tougher environment, it opens up Ohio State’s offense in a way that makes the Buckeyes a tough out.

The Buckeyes have other playmakers in the receiver room, including Brandon Inniss, Chris Henry Jr., Brock Boyd, Phillip Bell, and LSU transfer Kyle Parker. Still, McCuin appears to be the leader of that group as the player expected to do his work opposite Smith. 

McCuin’s performance against the Longhorns could go a long way in defining what Ohio State’s offense can be in 2026.

Time will tell if McCuin can deliver on that comparison, but Saturday’s matchup against Texas is the kind of stage where he’ll get a chance to prove it.