The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State in the Transfer Portal – Top Recruits from the Class of 2024 Are Leaving the Buckeyes

Podcast: The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Hosts: Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis
Date: January 5, 2026
Producer: Blue Wire

Episode Overview

In this episode, Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis dive into the latest developments regarding Ohio State football’s activity in the transfer portal, focusing on the unusually high turnover among the highly-touted class of 2024. They discuss reasons behind the exodus of top recruits, implications for roster construction in the NIL/transfer era, and the broader impact on how blue blood programs like Ohio State should approach recruiting and player development. The tone is honest, inquisitive, and occasionally philosophical, with the hosts pushing each other—and the audience—to think about the deeper changes college football is undergoing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Portal Trends and Turnover in 2024 Class

[02:36]

• Bill Landis recaps that as recording, 17 Buckeyes are out in the portal, up from 13 players the year before.
• The 2024 recruiting class was highly rated (fifth in the nation), but six of the top nine recruits are now gone or in the portal after just two years.
• Doug expresses that “it seems like too high” a number, though he wonders if it’s simply a sign of the times:

  “Is it just the cost of doing business in college football these days?” (03:48, Doug)

[04:21]

• The hosts highlight how following recruiting classes can now be disillusioning for fans:

  “You follow a class, they're here for two years and you get to this point and six of the top nine are gone.” (04:21, Bill)

2. Is Traditional Player Development Still Possible?

[06:29]

• Doug re-evaluates the classic adage (often attributed to Urban Meyer): “the first two years are on coaches, the third is on the player,” suggesting it’s now antiquated.

• “Maybe it needs to be like the first year's on us, the second year is on you.” (06:29, Doug)

• Bill and Doug agree it’s harder to rely on the traditional three-year path from recruit to regular contributor, especially with the rise of the portal and NIL.

3. What Type of Portal Losses Matter Most?

[07:44]

• They distinguish between portal losses of projected starters (critical) and those of players who haven’t cracked the two-deep.

• Doug:

  “The bottom third of your recruiting class is just sort of like always in play for churn…” (08:08, Doug)

• Bill: Only Aaron Scott (CB) among 2024 portal outgoing was projected as a 2026 starter by the hosts.

  “He’s the only guy who’s gone on the portal that we, ...had projected as a starter for next year.” (17:22, Bill)

4. Examples of Development, Opportunity, & Player Decisions

A. Case Studies: Play Time and Satisfaction

[10:49]

• Doug urges that OSU must play freshmen and sophomores more:

  “…they need to probably play a little differently to make, to create those opportunities for themselves.” (11:50, Doug)

• Limited snaps and a slow pace of play hamper development for younger players, which pushes them out the door.

B. The “What If” of Jelani Thurman

[12:39]

• Bill details how Jelani Thurman, a highly-touted tight end, stuck around but was leapfrogged by a portal transfer (Max Claire from Purdue). Thurman rarely played and is now in the portal, which could dissuade others from being patient in Columbus.

• “If you’re a kid in 2024, I would look at that and say like, I, I can’t wait.” (14:52, Bill)

C. Opportunity and Playing Time: The Case of Aaron Scott

[19:08 – 23:45]

• Aaron Scott, a local product and top-50 national talent, got special teams work but little defensive opportunity despite need and injuries.
• Doug:

  “I think they could have embraced the opportunities to play Aaron Scott a little more to figure out what they had.” (22:59, Doug)

5. Changing Roster Calculus and Portal Use

[25:37]

• Doug explores the tension between investing in five-star recruits and needing proven, older players—sometimes at the expense of elite underclassmen.

• Ohio State is likely shifting toward valuing “what is” (players proven as starters elsewhere, even from less heralded backgrounds) over “what could be” (their own blue-chip recruits).

• Bill:

  “You’re trading five-star recruits who haven’t played for max starters who have played...and that…would make Urban Meyer’s head explode.” (33:55, Bill)

[34:46]

• Doug ponders if the program should change front-end recruiting investment, perhaps taking fewer high school players and reallocating resources to the transfer portal.

• “Is 28 guys too much?...Do you need to save some of the resources you’re putting into the high school class and reallocate them to the transfer portal?” (34:46, Doug)

6. Detailed Analysis of Key Departures

A. Mylan Graham (WR)

[36:52]

• Five-star receiver, got 12 targets as a sophomore, didn’t break through even with injuries at his position and when the team was shorthanded.

• Coaches publicly called for more consistency.

• Doug:

  “I think this is probably a 10 out of 10 on the disappointment in development.” (36:52, Bill)

• Graham’s inability to seize a bigger role even with opportunity suggested a mismatch in development or fit.

B. James Peoples (RB) and Others

[41:41]

• Running back James Peoples started as a co-starter but was quickly surpassed and got ample opportunity.
• Other departures (e.g., Dominic Kirks, Devonte Armstrong) are seen as natural roster churn.

C. Players Remaining from the 2024 Class

[43:41]

• Five or so main 2024 recruits remain whose roles are uncertain, most at developmental positions (OL, TE, LB, DB).
• Discussion of whether Ohio State will keep adjusting its second-year development plans to retain more top talent.

7. Broader Implications and Future Questions

[45:20]

• The hosts want to press Ryan Day on whether the current pace of play and snap allocation is costing Ohio State long-term by stunting development and pushing players away.

• Doug:

  “Every football coach in America will tell you, and Ryan Day has said it, that there’s no substitute for live game reps...when you intentionally reduce the number of snaps…is that trade off worth it?” (46:23, Doug)

8. Where Do Portal Players Wind Up?

[47:18]

• Most OSU portal departures don’t transfer to other blue bloods; they mostly land at lower-tier Power 4 programs, where they can play immediately.

• “That’s just the way. That’s the circle of life in the transfer portal.” (47:18, Bill)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the effect on recruiting fandom:

  “I don't even know, like, if I want to follow recruiting anymore. Because you follow a class, they're here for two years, and you get to this point and six of the top nine are gone.”
  — Bill, [04:21]

• On updating player development timelines:

  “The first two are on us, the third one on you is, is sort of like officially antiquated thinking now…if there’s still that thought process…that probably needs to change because all that's going to do, I think, is lead to a lot of guys leaving after their second year.”
  — Doug, [06:29]

• Roster calculus shift:

  “You’re trading five-star recruits who haven’t played for max starters who have played. And listen, they're not gonna…bring in a max starter at corner to play…if they get somebody, it'll probably be a Power 4 guy. But…that certainty of playing time...if you don't have certainty on your own roster…you wind up in a situation where you might wind up trading Aaron Scott and Bryce West for some guy who wasn’t as highly rated as a recruit but has started for two years.”
  — Bill, [33:55]

• On possible solutions:

  “Do you need to save some of the resources you’re putting into the high school class and reallocate them to the transfer portal? Like, I don't. I don't know that there's a right answer.”
  — Doug, [34:46]

• On transfer portal cycle:

  “That’s just the way. That's the circle of life in the transfer portal.”
  — Bill, [47:18]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:36] – Breakdown of 2024 class turnover, portal numbers
• [06:29] – Debating development timelines, is “third year on you” outmoded?
• [10:49] – How lack of opportunities for young players accelerates transfer risk
• [14:52] – Jelani Thurman as an example of portal risk/reality
• [19:08 – 23:45] – Deep dive: Aaron Scott, missed opportunity, and playing time politics
• [33:55] – Is OSU shifting from special players to proven, if less-heralded, transfers?
• [34:46] – Should recruiting strategy shift (fewer HS signees, more saved for portal)?
• [36:52] – Mylan Graham’s trajectory and the challenge of wide receiver depth
• [41:41] – James Peoples, other natural attrition
• [47:18] – Destinations for departing Buckeyes; “circle of life” in the portal

Takeaways

• Ohio State is at a crossroads in how it builds and develops its roster in the NIL and portal era, with the class of 2024’s attrition emblematic of broader trends in college football.
• Top recruits are leaving before seeing the field, sometimes reflecting both limited early opportunity and a program philosophy still catching up to the new, fast-paced reality.
• Portal calculus is now about balancing “what could be” with “what is”—sometimes meaning blue-bloods will rationally exchange unproven five-stars for established upperclassmen from elsewhere.
• The hosts voice sympathy for fans, players, and even coaches navigating this churn, and underscore that old rules about patience and development no longer consistently apply.

Overall, this episode is an in-depth, thoughtful examination of Ohio State’s evolving approach to roster management. Bill and Doug combine firsthand insight with honest questioning about what works and what needs to change for the future of Ohio State—and college football at large.