Ohio State safety Malik Hartford has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Pete Nakos reports. Across three seasons in Columbus, Hartford recorded 20 tackles and three pass deflections. He played in just four games this season. Prior to enrolling at Ohio State, Hartford was ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 132 overall player in the 2023 […]
Ohio State safety Malik Hartford has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Pete Nakos reports.
Across three seasons in Columbus, Hartford recorded 20 tackles and three pass deflections. He played in just four games this season.
Prior to enrolling at Ohio State, Hartford was ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 132 overall player in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 11-ranked S in his class and the No. 3 overall player from the state of Ohio, hailing from Lakota West.
Hartford’s decision to enter the portal comes one week after the Buckeyes fell to No. 10 Miami in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal). Ohio State seemed poised to be in great contention to repeat as National Champions, but that will not come to fruition.
“I felt like it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said postgame. “I thought we did coming out of the second half. And by then, it was going to take a very, very efficient second half to win the game, being down 14-0. But I felt like at that point, we got into a rhythm. And when we had that drive there where we took a shot, it was incomplete.”
“And the next play was a hold that got us way behind the chains, and that was the drive that we needed to go win the game. And when you have a start the way that we did, you put yourself at risk of having to be really darn near perfect in the second half to go win the game. So we put ourselves behind the 8-Ball.”
Ohio State opened its season with an unblemished 12-0 record. But the Buckeyes finished the year with back-to-back losses to Indiana and Miami.
Ohio State’s Transfer Portal departures
Malik Hartford is now the 24th Ohio State player who is expected to enter the Transfer Portal.
- So. OL Devontae Armstrong
- Fr. DL Jarquez Carter
- Jr. K Jackson Courville
- Sr. EDGE Logan George
- So. WR Mylan Graham
- Jr. S Malik Hartford
- Sr. LB C.J. Hicks (USF)
- Fr. OL Isaiah Kema (Utah)
- So. DL Dominic Kirks
- Jr. QB Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville)
- Fr. OL Jayvon McFadden
- So. P Nick McLarty (Arizona State)
- RS-Jr. S Keenan Nelson Jr.
- So. RB James Peoples (Penn State)
- Fr. WR Quincy Porter
- Jr. WR Bryson Rodgers
- Fr. DL Maxwell Roy
- So. CB Aaron Scott Jr.
- So. OT Justin Terry
- Jr. TE Jelani Thurman
- Sr. OL Tegra Tshabola
- So. CB Bryce West (Wisconsin)
- So. RB Sam Williams-Dixon
- So. WR Demarion Witten
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.
The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
Category: General Sports
