Dallan Hayden is leaving Ohio State.
According to multiple reports, the Ohio State redshirt sophomore running back has told the Buckeyes’ coaches that he intends to enter the transfer portal. Hayden, who redshirted last season, has three years of eligibility remaining.
Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden has informed the Buckeyes staff that he plans to enter the transfer portal when the spring portal window opens, sources tell @247sports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 8, 2024
Hayden, a former four-star recruit and the son of former Tennessee and NFL RB Aaron Hayden, ran for 553 pic.twitter.com/kwcfMuUffn
The transfer portal will officially reopen next week, April 16, and will remain open through April 30 for the post-spring transfer window.
Hayden told reporters last week that he was “very confident” he could earn a role in Ohio State’s offense despite the return of TreVeyon Henderson and the addition of Quinshon Judkins at running back. Faced with the likelihood of being no higher than third on the Buckeyes’ running back depth chart, though, Hayden has seemingly decided to take his talents elsewhere for the opportunity to play a bigger role for another team.
His departure comes one week after Ohio State hired Carlos Locklyn as its new running backs coach to replace Tony Alford, the coach who recruited Hayden to OSU.
Hayden’s departure will leave the Buckeyes with four scholarship running backs: Henderson, Judkins and true freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon.
As TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor dealt with injuries in 2022, Hayden had a more prominent role than expected as a freshman. The Memphis native appeared in 10 of Ohio State’s 13 games that year, collecting 111 carries for 553 yards and five touchdowns. His best performance came in the Buckeyes’ win over Maryland, in which he carried the ball 27 times for 146 yards and three scores.
This past season, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said the plan was for Hayden to redshirt for the Buckeyes. Despite Henderson and Williams suffering injuries for the second straight year – Henderson missed three games, and Williams missed seven – Day and his staff stuck to that plan, leaning on Chip Trayanum in their absences. Hayden appeared in three games for Ohio State in 2024, collecting 19 carries for 110 yards and one touchdown.
