Ohio State went into the transfer portal and signed fourth-year junior defensive end Logan George out of Idaho State. As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, he posted 56 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and six quarterback hurries. He started all 12 games for the Bengals.
As a redshirt freshman, George posted 31 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Originally from Pocatello, Idaho, George was the No. 18 prospect in the state of Idaho during the 2022 recruiting cycle. He originally began his collegiate career with Utah State but transferred to Idaho State after one year with the Aggies.
What To Like
Logan George has good size, listed at 6-foot-5 and 259 last season, so even though he has played at a lower-level of football, he did it with the size of a Power 4 player. He shows some impressive moments of quickness when knifing in to stop the run.
Idaho State generally played a 3-3-5 defense, which put George inside the opposing tackle more than outside. As such, he was often dealing with two offensive linemen when trying to stop the run. The effort was there, but it wasn’t exactly a fair fight if he didn’t win with quickness off the bat.
Logan George (46) shows some quickness against the run on the inside. pic.twitter.com/h3IeuRcJc3
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) March 5, 2025
The Potential
Logan George did more pass rushing as an end in a three-man alignment than a four-man alignment, but here are some clips of what he looks like as a pass rusher in mostly four-man sets. These are likely closer to the alignments that he’ll be running with Ohio State, though the Buckeyes had been progressing towards more and more odd fronts during the second half of last season.
George is already athletic and experienced, but now OSU defensive line coach Larry Johnson can expedite the refinement process. George may be heading into his fourth year in college, but he’s still got room to grow. It will be interesting to see how much difference one offseason with Johnson can make for George.
One thing to keep in mind, his experience rushing the passer on the inside could make him a candidate to play inside in the Rushmen package on passing downs.
Ohio State brought in Idaho State DE Logan George. He played mostly in a 3-down defense. He played inside the tackle more than outside. Here are a few pass rush snaps in a 4-man(ish) line. pic.twitter.com/Wls7FKlMQd
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) March 5, 2025
The Expectations
The Buckeyes already know who their starting defensive ends will be this year. Like Logan George, Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry are also fourth-year guys. George isn’t going to be asked to come in and play 45 snaps per game, but this Ohio State defense will need guys who can give them 25 or so snaps on a regular basis.
The depth at defensive end is not great. Redshirt sophomore Joshua Mickens and redshirt freshman Dominic Kirks are the only other returnees who have played, and they only combined for 32 snaps last year. True freshmen Zion Grady and Epi Sitanilei will be involved as well. As it stands now, the Buckeyes need Logan George to be a productive member of the rotation.
Here are a bunch of pass rush clips in a 3-down alignment. If Larry Johnson asks Logan George to be part of the Rushmen package, he'll at least have had experience rushing inside. pic.twitter.com/ZbkNwN5uob
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) March 5, 2025
Bottom Line
Even with the addition of Logan George, it won’t be a surprise to see Ohio State go back to the transfer portal in the spring. The Buckeye coaching staff was too preoccupied with the playoffs last year to give as much attention to the portal as they would have liked, but that won’t be an issue after spring ball.
George is going to have an opportunity to make some early noise in the spring. It will obviously be a learning experience, but if he can prove himself over the course of 15 practices, then that would portend good things in the fall.
Based on the available clips, disruption was rarely an issue for George. Finishing the play is the next step. We just don’t know how many steps he’ll be able to take this season following such a big jump to Ohio State. What we do know is that the Logan George you see in November will be better than the one you see in April. But will it be enough to help fill the void left by Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau’s graduation?
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