Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Mylan Graham (5) celebrates with running back Bo Jackson. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mylan Graham explains difference between playing at Ohio State and Notre Dame

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Feb 18, 2026 10:42 PM ET

Wide receiver Mylan Graham is going to have an interesting college experience when all is said and done.

From Fort Wayne, Indiana, Graham committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes as a 5-star wide receiver.

He took a redshirt season in Columbus in 2024 and barely played in 2025.

Perhaps that was the reason he decided to transfer to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the portal. Either way, he's now a student-athlete in South Bend, and he recently explained that he's noticed one big difference between life as a football player at Ohio State and Notre Dame.

For him, it's academics.

“Not too different, you just have to actually go in person," Graham said of his classes now that he's with the Fighting Irish. "At Notre Dame, obviously, everybody knows how it is with academics."

Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham says the biggest adjustment has been academics.

When I asked what’s different:

“Not too different, You just have to actually go in person… at Notre Dame obviously everybody knows how it is with academics” pic.twitter.com/hrWjaLr4rM
— Talia B (@talia_baia) February 18, 2026

Mylan Graham's statement on Ohio State academics just a reality of college sports in 2026

That could be perceived as a shot at Ohio State, but the more generous reading of his comments is that he's literally just explaining the difference in how classes work.

Ohio State offers "distance learning," and you can bet most athletes aren't really required anymore to step foot inside an actual classroom.

Heck, there are plenty of non-athletes getting degrees via virtual learning, though, so it's not like this is some sort of scandal. That's just how things are nowadays. Shoot, Graham will have players on his team openly making millions of dollars.

Of course, these comments are kind of funny if you remember the time Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones infamously said, "we ain't come here to play school."

That was in 2012. It's a different world nowadays, and it's worth noting that years later, a more mature Cardale Jones retracted that statement.

With that in mind, any outrage online about these comments (and it's out there) is just an overreaction.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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