The distribution of carries in Ohio State’s backfield against Washington felt like an establishment of things to come.
Freshman Bo Jackson completed his climb up the depth chart after separating himself as the best runner of the running backs in the Buckeyes’ previous two games against Grambling State and Ohio, both 100-yard performances for Jackson despite having less than 10 carries in both games.
Against the Huskies, Jackson toted the rock 17 times. CJ Donaldson followed with nine carries and James Peoples got three, adding three receptions. The three-headed monster will continue to terrorize throughout the season, but a clear pecking order is being established.
“When you only have six possessions and 60-some-odd plays, those reps are valuable,” Ryan Day said on Tuesday. “So there's not as many in that type of a game to go around. I think there's going to be plenty more to go around for these guys, and we need all of them. I think they're all growing in different areas.”
After Jackson’s big outings against the Tigers and Bobcats, Day made clear what many fans and pundits had been calling for: Jackson would start receiving a lion’s share of the carries. He already led the backfield in rush attempts against Ohio – or tied for the lead, anyway, as he and Donaldson both carried the ball nine times – as the coaching staff rode his hot hand. Peoples received seven rushes in that game.
“It doesn't take a veteran coach to recognize talent when you see it, and Bo has talent,” Day said during Ohio State’s off week. “We're going to keep bringing him along. It's a long season, and so we're going to continue to give him the opportunities to prove that we can trust him with the ball in his hands. So far, he's done that. You can see his vision. You can see his ability to catch the ball. He's got a lot of different skills. We're going to keep bringing him along. And the more he can take, the more we're going to give him.
For the third consecutive game, Jackson led the trio in yards per carry. He rushed 17 times for 80 yards against the Huskies, a rate of 4.7 yards per attempt. Donaldson gathered 39 yards on his nine carries (4.3 YPC), and Peoples had 10 yards in his three rushes (3.3 YPC).
Jackson now has 297 rushing yards at a clip of 8.5 yards per carry on the season, with one touchdown. Flashing his next-level burst and big-play ability against both Grambling State and Ohio, breaking off a 64-yard run in the latter game, he showed off his power against Washington. He slips two tacklers and trucks a third on this 12-yard run, with assistance from fantastic blocks by Will Kacmarek and Luke Montgomery to open the hole.
The Buckeyes also utilized Jackson as a slot receiver and showed a two-back set with him in the slot and Donaldson in the backfield. He made one reception for 5 yards, giving him three catches for 26 yards on the year.
“Bo, when he was young, I thought he was going to be a receiver because of how well he ran routes on the outside when he used to come to camp,” Day said. “And then as he grew up and got stronger, you realized he was going to be a running back. But he can do multiple things.”
It’s Peoples who served as Ohio State’s primary receiving back against Washington, however, not just because he can catch out of the backfield, but because he’s fantastic in pass protection. He picked up 16 yards as a checkdown valve on his three catches.
“All of our running backs can play receiver,” Day said. “That's sort of a prerequisite now ... you have to be able to play multiple things. If you're just a running back and you can't run a route out of the backfield, or line up at receiver if we need you to, or you can't protect, you're not bringing a lot to the table. And all these guys can do that.”
Donaldson has been the clear No. 2 running back behind Jackson, even if he continues to start as he did against Washington. He’s also been the team’s go-to power back in short-yardage situations. He was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on 4th-and-1 at the Huskies’ 5-yard line on Ohio State’s first drive Saturday, but he picked up first downs on a later 3rd-and-1 and 3rd-and-2, along with a touchdown run on 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line. He added a 4-yard touchdown reception on 4th-and-1 that sealed the game with less than six minutes to play.
“Definitely on that 4th-and-1, I got to do a better job getting my pads down,” Donaldson said after the game. “That's something I got to continually work on. Coach Day always tells us, ‘Weather the storm.’ So, I think that's something we did as a team. We weathered the storm very well and we responded quickly.”
While the Buckeyes' backs had clear roles against Washington, Day emphasized on Tuesday that he wants all the players on his roster to stay versatile so that the offense isn't predictable.
"You have to bring versatility," Day said. "So if you're a receiver and you can only run routes and you can't block, you don't have a lot of versatility. You don't bring as much value, unless you're just really, really elite at that one thing. If you're a tight end and you can only block and you can't run routes, or you can run routes but you can't protect, you don't bring as much value. Because eventually, what teams are going to do is they're going to say, when he's in the game, he's doing this. Same things with the running backs."
Each of Ohio State’s running backs has something to improve on with the season only one-third done, Day said.
“It starts with CJ, who is still figuring out this offense, and how we do things here, and the expectation,” Day said. “He's growing. He's done some really good things, made some big plays already for us. And so he's got to continue to get better. I think every time Bo and James get on the field, they're sort of doing it for the first time a lot of times. And so you're seeing the growth from those guys. They need to play. The more they play, the more you're going to find out about them, and they're going to grow.”
