Ohio State may already want a refund on Alabama transfers James Smith and Qua Russaw

Ohio State fans didn't want to believe it. They were sure that they pulled off a coup by landing Alabama transfers James Smith and Qua Russaw in the portal. To be fair, some Alabama fans were distraught at the losses.

But as former Tide safety-turned-Director of Player Development HaHa Clinton-Dix said in the aftermath of some seemingly key departures, "turn on the tape."

Smith and Russaw spent three years at Alabama with considerable hype and limited production. Things don't appear to have changed in Columbus.

In Ohio State's 24-23 loss to Texas on Saturday night in Austin, 17 Buckeye defenders played more than 10 snaps. The two lowest-graded guys among them, per PFF? Smith and Russaw:

James Smith and Qua Russaw aren't the difference-makers Ohio State thought they were getting

Ohio State bulked up Smith this offseason in hopes he could become an immovable force on their defensive line. Instead, they got a lot of this against Texas:

Watch how badly Smith (No. 3) is blown off the ball in that clip above, opening up a significant running lane for the Texas RB. There was a lot of that this past season at Alabama, and it's why Kane Wommack wanted to change things up on the defensive line. That led to shuffling the deck, and Alabama landing less heralded, but more productive, players like Devan Thompkins, Terrance Green, and Kedrick Bingley-Jones.

For Russaw, his stubbornness to want to be an edge defender continues to hold him back from reaching his potential. Alabama's pass rush took off last season when he got hurt, and Yhonzae Pierre took over the starting job. That didn't change when he got healthy, and Pierre was going to be the unquestioned starter even if Russaw returned for his senior season.

Alabama wanted to keep Russaw, but they wanted him to move to inside linebacker. They felt he could be an impact player off-ball. But he preferred to remain on the edge, something Ohio State was happy to oblige. In 21 career games now, Russaw has produced just two sacks.

Smith and Russaw wanted more money. They knew if they hit the open market, they could get it. Alabama wasn't willing to continue paying guys for potential without production to back it up.

So far at Ohio State, that production still hasn't caught up to the potential they had as 5-star recruits when they arrived at Alabama.

The Crimson Tide wisely chose to move on rather than tie up more resources in them. The Buckeyes thought they were getting a steal, but they're quickly learning the reality that the bark has always been bigger than the bite for both.

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