Two Ohio State football players shed their black stripe

The Ohio State football team had someone lose their black stripe faster than anyone had ever done it earlier in Spring. Freshman Jeremiah Smith shed his stripe after just four Spring practices. He’s a freak of nature and is poised to be the next great Ohio State receiver. He was the number-one overall recruit for a reason.

Now two more Buckeyes have followed his lead in shedding that stripe. Two transfers into the program have now shed their stripe after just six practices. Both Caleb Downs and Quinshon Judkins have lost their black stripe. They are now officially Buckeyes. Both players were expected to have this happen soon.

The Ohio State football team has two transfers lose their black stripe

Downs came into the Ohio State football program from Alabama after Nick Saban retired. He almost chose Ohio State out of high school and decided this was where he wanted to be once the legendary coach retired. He was a Freshman All-American and is going to bring a massive upgrade to an already stacked secondary.

Judkins comes to Ohio State from Ole Miss. He was the starting running back for the Rebels for each of the past two seasons. He ran for over 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns in each of those seasons. While he won’t be the starter for the Buckeyes, he will still add a lot of value to a team that wants to run the ball better.

Each of these players will add a lot of value on each side of the ball. Adding good players from the transfer portal is what Ryan Day wanted to do after a disappointing finish to the 2023 year. Both of these guys are going to play a lot of snaps. I would expect both of these guys to be All-Big Ten picks, and Downs could be an All-American.