Ohio State Football Notebook: 'We think it's a great addition to the room'

Buckeyes Have A New Beau

The Buckeyes made a big splash in the transfer portal this spring when they signed North Carolina defensive end Beau Atkinson. As a redshirt freshman last season, Atkinson led the Tar Heels with 12.0 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

Atkins now joins a defensive end room that includes four other fourth-year players that will allow defensive line coach Larry Johnson to have a fuller rotation. As one might expect, Johnson isn’t the only Ohio State coach excited about the addition.

“Very excited about adding Beau,” OSU head coach Ryan Day said on Tuesday. “Had an opportunity to spend time with he and his family on their visit. You guys have seen some of the film. We think that it’s a great addition to the room. Somebody who has experience, has some real size, and he’s excited about being at Ohio State.”

As the Ohio State defense rebuilds under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the addition of Beau Atkinson is one that should pay off extremely well.

“Beau made it very clear that he wanted to play at the highest level,” Day said. “He hit it off with Larry, with Coach Patricia, and so I think it’ll be a great addition to our room as we head into the summer.”

No ETA On New DT For OSU

While the Buckeyes were busy adding a pair of defensive ends in the transfer portal this year — Logan George in the winter and Beau Atkinson in the spring, their search for defensive tackle help has yet to pan out.

But that doesn’t mean the search is over. Ryan Day and Larry Johnson are still looking for a defensive tackle in the transfer portal, but with a very focused eye.

“We are. We have,” Day said. “But we wanted to make sure that when we bring somebody in, it has to be an upgrade to what we have. And so we’re not just going to do it to do it.”

The options have been very limited in the spring portal window and now that it’s closed — barring a surprise graduate transfer entering — it’s not going to get better.

“I think that we have looked, and we’re going to continue to look,” Day said. “But we’re not just going to bring in someone just to do that. So we’ll continue to evaluate that.”

Location, Location, Location

Last week, the Buckeyes tied the school record by having 14 players drafted (2004), which was the most of any school this year and second-most all time. There is no doubt that it was a moment of pride for Ryan Day and his coaching staff after they watched so many of their players hear their names called.

However, asked on Tuesday if as he was watching it, was he getting angry at any particular player’s slide down the draft boards, he immediately brought up center Seth McLaughlin. McLaughlin — who tore his Achilles tendon late in the season — was the only Buckeye invited to the NFL Combine who wasn’t drafted.

“Well, I don’t think Seth should have gone undrafted,” Day said. “But I think the Achilles and maybe just being center only is why that happened. But I’m pleased with the location that everybody ended up with.”

McLaughlin ended up signing a free agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals where he will compete to be the backup center this year. Like the rest of his teammates, it’s a spot that makes sense for him.

“You know, I don’t think there was really anybody that got drafted where when you look at it, you say, ‘Man, that’s not a good fit.’ And when I sit up in front of the personnel for our pro day, that was our goal,” Day said.

Just as when Day talks about the transfer portal, it’s always about adding the “right fit.” It’s no different in the draft. He wants his players to find that right fit, because the wrong fit doesn’t do anybody any good.

“We always say it’s easy to get in the NFL. It’s hard to stay in the NFL,” Day explained. “So we need these guys to now stay in the NFL. The easy part’s over.”