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The Ohio transfer road to power football has been a long time coming
The Colorado Buffaloes’ 2024 defensive line corps is packed full of fresh new faces. Coach Prime and his staff honed in on bolstering the defensive trenches via the transfer portal, adding some impressive talent to the group. One particular addition to the D-line sticks out as perhaps the most intriguing: former Ohio defensive tackle Rayyan Buell.
At first glance, Buell is your proto-typical pass rusher. He uses his 6-foot-3, 277-Ibs. build to bulldoze opposing offensive linemen to clog holes and wreak havoc in the offensive backfield. Buell tallied 4.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for losses in only nine games played with the Ohio Bobcats last season, earning him third-team all-MAC honors in 2023.
The stats and tape from Buell’s time in Athens don’t tell the full story of his eventual landing with the Buffaloes. Buell’s road to playing college football in a power conference has been a long one, and a long time coming.
Coming out of Hornell High School in New York in 2019, Buell originally committed to play with the Rutgers Scarlett Knights in the Big 10. Rutgers never let Buell to see the field in his time with the team, so he made the tough choice to transfer to Northwestern Mississippi Community College.
Moving from a Power Five roster to playing community college ball is a big jump, but Buell excelled given the circumstances. After starting all 12 games of the 2021 season for the Rangers, Buell racked up 32 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Buell’s impressive showing at NMCC earned him an opportunity to move back up to the FBS level with the Ohio Bobcats, which he once again made the most of.
In his last year of eligibility, Buell will finally get to play on the biggest stage. The nation’s eyes will be on Boulder and the Buffaloes in 2024, and Buell will be right in the mix of the madness. It’s a perfect full-circle moment for a player who deserves it more than anyone.
With all the newcomers competing for playing time in Colorado’s defensive line, Buell has established himself as one to watch. Most of the Buffs’ D-line transfers are castoffs from other Power Five programs that couldn’t see the field during a game. Buell was once in their shoes, but has taken an unconventional route to work his way back to the top.
Buell now has the reputation of an up-and-coming former Group of Five player who wants to prove he can succeed at the highest level, and that might be exactly what the Buffs need.
Colorado’s most successful transfers so far have been players who moved up to play power football in Boulder, like Xavier Weaver, Jimmy Horn Jr, Cam’Ron Salmon-Craig, and of course the Sanders brothers and Travis Hunter. Coach Prime and his staff have a potential diamond in the rough in Buell, but it’ll be up to them to shape him.
by RylandScholes
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