Bo Jackson was one of the best freshman running backs in all of college football last season, while Isaiah West also made an immediate impact in his first year at Ohio State. Carlos Locklyn believes they’ve only scratched the surface of how good they can be.
From Locklyn’s vantage point, Jackson and West were both effectively still high school seniors in terms of experience last season. Jackson played only four games in his senior year at Cleveland’s Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School while West played only five games in his senior year at Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Preparatory School before they were sidelined by season-ending knee injuries.
That didn’t stop Jackson from emerging as Ohio State’s No. 1 running back less than a month into his freshman year, a season he finished with 1,090 rushing yards, the second-most of any FBS freshman last season behind only North Texas’ Caleb Hawkins.
West started the year as Ohio State’s No. 4 running back, but moved up to second on the depth chart for a time before finishing the year as the Buckeyes’ No. 3 RB behind Jackson and CJ Donaldson. He was arguably Ohio State’s second-best running back behind Jackson last season, running for 310 yards and two touchdowns on only 59 carries.
Their success as freshmen came despite both suffering injuries to the same body part again. Jackson and West both tore labrums in their shoulders during the season, but continued to play through the end of the year.
All of that said, Ohio State’s running backs coach believes Jackson and West can be two of the best running backs in the country in 2026.
“You're going to see tremendous growth in both of those guys because they're going to be confident, they're going to be bigger, they're going to be stronger, and now they're going to solve a few things,” Locklyn said. “So my expectation is for both of them to be elite this year … they’ll be much better this year.”
Asked just how good he thinks he and Jackson can be as a sophomore tandem in 2026, West replied with an “Oooooooh” as a big smile flashed across his face.
“I'm excited,” West said. “I'm not going to say too much about it, I'd much rather just show y’all, but it's going to be – I'm excited.”
Year 2 of Bo Jackson and Isaiah West will be cinema pic.twitter.com/whhTdiaKhY
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 11, 2026
Both running backs underwent surgeries on their shoulders after the season, so neither of them is practicing this spring. Even so, Locklyn believes both of them are getting better this offseason. He said both of them got bigger and stronger in the weight room during winter workouts, and he believes they’re processing the game faster mentally now that they have a year of collegiate experience under their belts.
“Isaiah and Bo's biggest issue last year was actually getting bigger and stronger. The weight room brings confidence. Both of them, they're confident. I think Bo's around 219-220 (pounds), Isaiah's 223,” Locklyn said. “Now it's getting the mental aspect of the game. I tell the kids all the time: Make knowledge your greatest talent. So now they're getting the mental part, because they know what's going to happen. They've been in those situations.”
“You're going to see tremendous growth in both of those guys because they're going to be confident, they're going to be bigger, they're going to be stronger, and now they're going to solve a few things.”– Carlos Locklyn on Bo Jackson and Isaiah West
West, who also missed the spring last year while recovering from his ACL injury, said it is disappointing not to be able to be on the field this spring. But he believes the mental reps he’s getting this spring will have him well-prepared to ramp up quickly in preseason camp.
“Of course, it's not fun to not be out there. It's not fun to watch football; I'd much rather play it. But I mean, unfortunately, I'm not exactly new to this; I did this last year, so it's OK,” West said. “I'm going to take my mental reps, I'm going to come back fall camp, and I’m going to hit the ground running.”
Jackson says he’s been “working as hard as I can to get bigger, faster and stronger and just become a better overall back,” which he’s confident will enable him to break off more long runs in year two.
“I'll be able to run through those arm tackles and break more tackles, bounce off more tackles, make more plays,” said Jackson, who tied for the lead among all Big Ten running backs with 36 runs of 10-plus yards in 2025.
Even with their immediate success last season and expected improvement in year two, Jackson and West still face competition for playing time entering 2026. Florida transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson is expected to have a role in the rotation after he was brought in to supplement Bo and Isaiah this season. And then there’s much-hyped freshman Legend Bey, whom Locklyn said he views similarly to the way he viewed Jackson and West a year ago.
That said, Bo Jackson remains Ohio State’s clear-cut starter at the position; Locklyn said Friday that he views Jackson as his most complete running back in terms of his ability to make plays in all aspects of the game as a runner, pass-catcher and blocker. And though Ja’Kobi Jackson, Bey and Anthony “Turbo” Rogers are also making their cases for playing time, West seems like the frontrunner to be Ohio State’s No. 2 running back based on the way both Locklyn and Ryan Day have talked about West and Bo Jackson collectively.
“They've got a lot of experience and a lot to grow from from last year,” Day said in January. “Both three-down backs, which to me is exciting. And if we're gonna make the run that we need to make next season, those guys are gonna have to be great. They're gonna have to really take the next step. But to see them as freshmen, you saw the potential.”
