Ohio State football: Portal losses leave RB room dangerously thin

A lot of Ohio State football players have entered their names into the transfer portal since it opened on Monday. Kyle McCord is perhaps the biggest name in there, but the Buckeyes have taken hits elsewhere on the roster. The Buckeyes have lost members of the secondary, receivers, and offensive linemen.

No room has had to endure more offseason losses than the running back room. The Buckeyes have lost three of their top four running backs this week. Miyan Williams decided to head to the draft while both Evan Pryor and Chip Trayanum decided to enter the transfer portal.

That leaves just TreVeyon Henderson and Dallan Hayden as running backs who have gotten carries from last year’s roster. Henderson is eligible to leave for the draft if he wants, but there seems to be a level of confidence that he will stay with the Ohio State football program.

If Henderson does stay, that’s huge. He’s the best back the team has by far and is the engine of the run game. Even if he does though, the depth has taken a massive hit. Henderson has proven to be injury-prone, so the Buckeyes could be down to just one back real quick.

Ohio State is bringing in a recruiting class that includes three running backs, so that helps. You still don’t want to have to rely on freshmen if someone gets hurt. We’ll see if the Buckeyes head to the portal to try to get a running back with some experience to back up Henderson and Hayden.

Expect more transfer portal losses later this week. Players aren’t done deciding on their futures. It would be nice to see the Buckeyes get a commit or two from the portal soon though. I’d like to see them get someone from the portal in the next week or so.