Ohio State Buckeyes: Defensive lineman announces he is leaving

“Timing is everything is a cliche, but it rings true and is extremely relatable in my situation,” he wrote in his announcement.

Cowan signed in 2020 as a four-star defensive tackle prospect from Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C. He was the No. 8 player in his home state and ranked 163rd nationally in 247Sports Composite rankings.

The business major redshirted in 2020, played in five games last season and was credited with three tackles.

“I committed to The Ohio State University and came to Columbus with such high hopes,” he continued before thanking OSU fans and the coaching staff for their support. “However, the pandemic and a season-ending injury had a detrimental effect on the start of my college career. As we know, our plans are not always the plans that God has for us. I have accepted that, and it’s time to move on.”

At Ohio State this spring, he was part of a deep room that could see coach Larry Johnson go at least three deep at all four spots even before all of the 2022 signing class arrives this summer.

Seniors Zach Harrison, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Jerron Cage and Taron Vincent appear to be in line to start with senior Tyler Friday, junior Noah Potter, and third-year sophomores Ty Hamilton and Jaden McKenzie also in the mix — if they can hold off talented 2021 signees Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Mike Hall, who all look poised to make a big push for playing time this fall.

Ohio State concluded the spring with 88 scholarship players, but Cowan’s departure takes that number down to 87, two more than the limit for the start of the season.

He is the third to leave since the start of spring practice, following defensive backs Bryson Shaw and Lejond Cavazos, and unlikely to be the last.

So far 10 scholarship players have departed to find somewhere else to play, and there remains a glut of players at several positions.

Cowan is the sixth player from Ohio State’s 2020 class to transfer.

Since 2000, the high for any class is eight, a mark reached four times: 2012, ‘15, ‘16 and ‘18.

During the Jim Tressel era (2001-11), Ohio State averaged 3.7 transfer per class, but that increased to 6.3 for the classes that signed while Urban Meyer was head coach from 2012-18.

The latter number could go up with a handful of players from the 2018 class still on the roster.

Five players have transferred from the 2019 class and one (quarterback Quinn Ewers) already left from last fall’s group of freshman.