He's going to love being at the ugly step sister of the Wolverines.

I was wondering if Ohio has the policy of not taking them back or if it’s selective. One guy came back already after declaring for the portal so I’m confused about the policy here.

I appreciate your optimistic point of view, and it may turn out to be a good move for him, but it was also the only offer he received.

I assume its more about his size / blocking abilities. It's not like he put up crazy receiving numbers in his time here.

2022 - 20 catches, 264 rec yards, 0 TDs --> #8 TE in the MAC in Receiving yards
2023 - 22 catches, 243 rec yards, 2 TDs --> #6 TE in the MAC in Receiving yards

If Walton didn’t want to be at Ohio any longer, then his exit is good for BOTH him and Ohio. I wish him luck but I’ll take guys like Jones, Hendricks and Harris over him in a heartbeat moving forward.

I presume he believes he can become the starter, and that he will then make a lot. While that matters to him, it doesn't matter to us. He's moved on. The question that matters now is how well Ohio can replace him.

This is how it's going to be, with lots of player turnover. While Ohio was hit harder than most, this year, it will even out over time, and all teams will lose some of there best players, and some of their backups who aren't getting playing time. The teams then have to be nimble, and find replacements. Not so long ago, teams added ~18-23 players a year, mostly Freshmen. Now it will be more like 30-35 a year, including Freshmen, JUCOs, and players from the portal. It may keep going up, and end up higher than that. It's not an inherently worse system, nor an inherently better one, just a different one. In this new environment, some coaches will thrive, while others may struggle.

Maybe he likes gray.

A lot of time it boils down to one simply thing. Opportunity. An opportunity to play and perform. Look no further than the bowl game vs Georgia Southern. Ohio didn’t have its top 2 QB’s, top 2 RB’s, 2 of the top WR’s and the top LB. Guys like Hunt and Navarro made the most out of their new opportunities. Had all those other guys played, those guys likely wouldn’t have even seen the field in that game. Ohio would be going into 2024 with a ton of unknowns with say a guy like Hunt. Instead, after seeing him get a chance to play and show what he can and is capable of doing, everyone is feeling a million times better about him going into 2024. It boiled down to his opportunity. I’m willing to bet Gundy will also make the most of his next season as well. The OL has 4 starters returning, two beasts at RB, a stud WR and another playmaker to run along side of him. And three more than capable QB’s. Last year’s offense way underperformed IMO. I wouldn’t be surprised to see next year’s offense take a step or two forward past what 2023’s achieved. Plus, the defense returns a lot of quality guys collectively. You can rest assured that Ohio will contend in 2024.

Does anyone have stats on the percentage of this years portal guys who have actually graduated from the school they are transferring away from? Covid year probably makes this figure higher than it will be in the future.

That's a good question. I see that some are referred to as Grad transfers which apparently (I may be wrong) participate in team activities earlier.

A question I had is how many of the guys entering our portal for us were not going to be on scholarship next year? If you weren't a significant contributor for four years, were you going to keep that scholarship for a fifth or sixth year? If you are graduating is entering the portal just a move you make because it doesn't cost anything to try.

Well said.

he's no longer a Bobcat so why not just tell us?

Sears met with coaching staff on a Monday. They had developed a comprehensive plan to get him some money and, most important, publicity to aid in his plans to eventually enter the draft. He assured them he was all in. The next morning, Boals received a call from Chubb Hall advising him that Sears and his parents had just completed the paperwork to transfer. Never heard from him again.