Ohio State is cleaning up on the transfer portal. Greg McElroy doesn’t think the program should be modest about major NIL spending.
On Sunday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin shared a report about Ohio State spending $13 million in NIL funding to add or keep players for 2024. The Buckeyes poached safety Caleb Downs and five-star recruit Julian Sayin from McElroy’s alma mater, but the former Alabama quarterback thinks Ohio State should embrace that allegedly large budget.
During Always College Football, McElroy said he’s “baffled” that programs don’t make those resources part of their brand in the NIL era.
“If you have outrageously deep pockets, if you have tremendous booster support. Man, lean into it,” McElroy advised.
McElroy theorized that the Buckeyes “ruffled” Kiffin by landing some of his transfer targets.
Along with snagging star transfers through the portal, Ohio State is also keeping some prominent 2023 contributors for another season.
McElroy noted that players such as TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, and Denzel Burke would typically go to the NFL. However, they’re staying in Columbus for another year to pursue a national title while making “a bunch of money.”
The ESPN analyst said Ohio State is “hot” right now with “a ton of momentum.” He believes Michigan’s national championship lit a fire under its Big Ten nemesis.
“If you look at what’s happened with the NIL support that Ohio State has garnered in the last two weeks, it’s off-the-charts good,” McElroy said. “They’ve always had deep pockets. They’ve always been in a great position to land top players. But now they’re able to retain future NFL draft picks to stay another year because the NIL support and roster retention is so significant.”