Ohio State football: Trey Sermon goes in third round to 49ers

The Ohio State football team had a run of players taken Friday night, including a surprise draft pick in Trey Sermon.

Trey Sermon only played for the Ohio State football program for one year, but he certainly made an impact. He holds the single-game record for most rushing yards in a game with 331 against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game. Now he’s a San Francisco 49er.

Sermon was not expected to go this early. Most people had him in the fifth round, with the fourth round being the ceiling for him. John Lynch saw differently and decided to take him near the end of the third round. Sermon has to be thrilled to get this opportunity.

When healthy, Sermon can be a very physical back. He does not shy away from contact and has a big enough body that arm tackles will just bounce right off of him. He is a much faster back than he looks too and has the breakaway speed to take it to the house.

Health was the only reason why Sermon was projected to go so low. He hurt his knee at Oklahoma and that made him have a slow start to 2020. Sermon also hurt his collarbone in the National Championship Game and was still working through that during Ohio State’s Pro Day.

San Francisco certainly loves to run the ball. Sermon won’t be the only one carrying the ball as the 49ers still have Raheem Mostert as the starter. But Sermon is someone who can get significant snaps and can be utilized in the passing game as well.

I think Sermon will fit in well in San Francisco. This is a great pick for the 49ers and a great place for Trey to go.