Ohio State football: BOOM! Running back commits to Buckeyes
By Del Barris
The Ohio State football team has added another stud running back to their roster, this one for the class of 2022.
BOOM! Ohio State has added a much-needed running back to their top-rated 2022 recruiting class. Less than 48 hours after taking his official visit, Dallan Hayden announced he is becoming a Buckeye.
Hayden, who is from Memphis, Tenessee, has been a target of the Buckeyes for some time. Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford cultivated an excellent relationship with him and helped the Buckeyes separate from most of the rest of the pack.
Despite the clear lead the Buckeyes seemed to have in Hayden’s recruitment, Notre Dame was always a presence. He took unofficial visits to each in the spring. The Irish were feeling pretty good after his official visit the weekend of June 11-13.
Some felt they had overtaken or at least pulled even with the Buckeyes. Those feelings went away in a hurry after Hayden had an excellent official visit with Ohio State this past weekend. It went so well, one recruiting expert from Bucknuts predicted him to the Buckeyes.
The 5’11”, 195-pound Hayden is the nation’s 24th ranked running back. Many compare him to former Buckeye J.K. Dobbins. 247 Sports National Recruiting Analyst Alan Trieu says Hayden runs hard and has the ability to break long runs. He can be elusive, but for the most part is a one cut-and-go runner. Also, he has good hands and is unafraid to pass block. You can watch highlights of him here.
Considering the Buckeyes are going head-to-head with Notre Dame on a few players, this is a good win for them. Hayden is the running back they wanted. They didn’t have to drop down their list. This will also extend their lead over Notre Dame in the national recruiting rankings. The Irish have recently moved into second place.
Next. Five-star recruit making announcement tomorrow. dark
Hayden is the second commitment in the month of June for the Buckeyes. Receiver Kaleb Brown pledged to OSU on June 7th. With just over a week to go in the month, the hope is they’ll be able to add another BOOM! or two.