Ohio State cornerback Dominick Kelly sheds black stripe

COLUMBUS — Dominick Kelly has been gaining buzz in the Ohio State cornerback room for nearly the entire spring. He’s now earned a major milestone for the Buckeyes.

Kelly is the latest transfer addition to shed his black stripe, officially becoming a member of the program. He lost it Friday after practice, the first of the two transfer cornerback additions to lose his black stripe and the ninth transfer overall to have that honor.

The former four-star prospect ranked as the No. 39 cornerback in the 2025 class, played in just 10 games for the Georgia Bulldogs as a true freshman last year. In those appearances, he recorded three tackles and three passes defended, serving as a reserve defensive back. He entered the transfer portal in January and picked the Buckeyes a day later.

Dominick Kelly played in eight games for Georgia as a true freshman, recording three tackles and three pass breakups in a reserve role. He showed promise for the Bulldogs. Against Kentucky, he played significant snaps and allowed just one reception on four targets with two pass breakups. The tools were obvious. Georgia sources had indicated that the Bulldogs felt he had a promising future. Kirby Smart isn’t in the habit of playing not-ready-freshmen. That’s why Ohio State was so eager to make a move when his entrance into the transfer portal was official.

Now he’s on the practice field for Ohio State and doing well in his first 11 days of spring camp. And it all ended up with Kelly shedding his black stripe after practice.

Dominick Kelly joins growing list of Ohio State players to lose black stripe

He now joins a growing list of Ohio State players to lose their black stripes so far this spring.

As for transfers, the Buckeyes have shed the black stripes from helmets from former LSU wide receiver Kyle Parker, former Florida State defensive back Earl Little Jr., former Wisconsin linebacker Christian Alliegro, former Alabama defensive end Qua Russaw, former Alabama defensive tackle James Smith, former UTSA wide receiver Devin McCuin, former UCF defensive tackle John Walker and former Ohio tight end Mason Williams.

And so far, just one freshman has lost his black stripe so far this spring. After just six practices in his Buckeyes career, Texas native Brock Boyd seems to be on the fast track to being a first-year impact player. The latest example of that: Boyd shed his black stripe on Tuesday after practice, a mark that he’s officially a member of the program. Boyd is the first freshman from the class of 2026 to shed his stripe, a major milestone for the former three-star recruit from Southlake Carroll (Texas) High School.

Now Dominick Kelly is the latest to join them.

Here’s the Buckeyes to lose their black stripe this spring:

Player	Previous school/year	Black stripe removal date	Story link
WR Kyle Parker	LSU	March 28, 2026	READ MORE
DB Earl Little Jr.	Florida State	March 29, 2026	READ MORE
WR Brock Boyd	HS (freshman)	March 31, 2026	READ MORE
LB Christian Alliegro	Wisconsin	March 31, 2026	READ MORE
DE Qua Russaw	Alabama	April 2, 2026	READ MORE
DT James Smith	Alabama	April 4, 2026	READ MORE
WR Devin McCuin	UTSA	April 4, 2026	READ MORE
DT John Walker	UCF	April 8, 2026	READ MORE
TE Mason Williams	Ohio	April 8, 2026	READ MORE
CB Dominick Kelly	Georgia	April 10, 2026