Top 3 Ohio State Running Backs In the 2010’s

#2 J.K. Dobbins

The next player on the list and second-best running back for the Buckeyes in the 2010s is J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins statistically has a case to be first on this list with him having over 4000 career rushing yards with the Buckeyes along with a 2000 yard rushing season in his junior year.

In his freshman season, J.K. broke onto the scene and put Buckeye nation along with the rest of the NCAA on alert running for 1403 yards on 194 carries and 7 touchdowns.

Dobbins also may have been the best receiving back out of the three that will be on this list. In his freshman year, he caught 22 passes for 135 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Buckeyes finished the regular season with a record of 10-2 with losses to Oklahoma and Iowa. However, they went on to prove themselves in the postseason, in the Big Ten Championship the Buckeyes edged out the Wisconsin Badgers 24-21. In their bowl game in the Cotton Bowl against the USC Trojans, the Buckeyes handily defeated the Trojans 24-7.

In his second year with Ohio State, Dobbins hit a bit of a sophomore slump and had the worst season of his Buckeye career. However, in terms of almost any other college back Dobbins still had a great season. He ran for 1053 yards on 230 carries and 10 touchdowns.

While he took a dip in rushing, this was Dobbin’s best receiving season. He caught 26 passes for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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The Buckeyes finished this season with a record of 13-1 and were locked out of a playoff appearance after an embarrassing 20-49 loss to Purdue in the middle of the season.

However, this was the only game of the season that the Buckeyes would lose. In the Big 10 championship, it appeared that they may have done enough to slip in the playoffs after touching Northwestern 45-24, however, it would not be enough to make the playoffs and they would play the Washington Huskies in Urban Meyers final game as an Ohio State coach in the Rose Bowl in a game they would win 28-23.

Dobbin’s final season with the Buckeyes may have been the best statistical season that a Buckeye running back has ever had. He broke the Ohio State single-season rushing record that was previously held by Eddie George.

His rushing totals on the season were an astronomical 2003 yards on 301 carries and 21 touchdowns, which was good for second place on the all-time single-season rushing touchdowns list.

Dobbins had nearly the same receiving season as he did in his sophomore season. He caught 23 passes for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Possibly the most impressive thing about this season is that Dobbins achieved these insane numbers while spending the fourth quarter and even at times the entire second half on the bench in many games because Ohio State had such a substantial lead.

Ohio State looked destined to win a championship in the 2019 season after blowing through their regular season schedule going 12-0 and winning the Big 10 championship 34-21. However, after Dobbins suffered multiple injuries in the semifinal game against Clemson and many questionable calls from the officials the Buckeyes were eliminated from the playoffs.

Dobbins went on to be drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 55th overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft. He looks to have a very bright and promising career on a young contending team with the reigning NFL MVP in Lamar Jackson.