Isaiah West seems to be Ohio State's RB1 right now. In general, West has become the Buckeyes' offensive lifeline during the opening week of fall camp.
On Saturday, West was seen taking first-team reps, along with Florida Gators transfer Ja'Kobi Jackson and 5-star freshman phenom Legend Bey. Bo Jackson was taking reps with the second team. The latter has been a consistent second-teamer so far.
Good for West, but the Bo Jackson bit is worrying. Did his offseason shoulder surgery leave him hurting for longer than the training staff was expecting? Is West recovering much quicker and more efficiently from his own injury? You have to wonder if Jackson is going to be slow-rolled into the fall, not taking big reps early.
As for Bey, Ryan Day and Co. have felt the need to punish him on several occasions this offseason. Bey was recently suspended for the first few practices, while in the spring, his No. 2 jersey number was taken away for disciplinary reasons.
West is the steady option right now. After averaging 5.3 yards per carry on 59 carries last year, he was a low-usage, high-reward option. Perhaps first-year OSU play-caller Arthur Smith is seeing more in him than the rest of the room.
Bo Jackson's issue is nothing to worry about. For now...
Bo Jackson is on the field in fall camp, which is a good thing for his prospects of playing right away. If he isn't going to get a ton of snaps against Ball State or Kent State, then no harm, no foul. It may even behoove Smith and Carlos Locklyn to put the elder Ja'Kobi Jackson on the field more during the Texas game at DKR Stadium. That crowd will make things even more difficult for Julian Sayin's play-calling than the Longhorns' stout defense will. It's now or never for the upperclassman Ja'Kobi Jackson.
If he loses the RB1 job to West full-time this fall, there could be bigger issues down the line for Bo Jackson. We could worry about the portal once the Buckeyes have gotten a resolution on the 2026 season, but Bo is an obvious option to transfer if he isn't the workhorse in Scarlet and Gray anymore. He has too much talent not to explore the offensive situation with the most snaps.
Jackson's second-team reps aren't a big deal right now. In time? Different story.
Legend Bey needs to learn the Buckeye Way
Bey was supposed to be a big part of Ohio State's future. So far, it seems he isn't cut out for the Buckeye Way. Not yet, anyway.
Bey could earn myriad helmet stickers in short order and become one of the team's biggest difference-makers. All of these headlines could one day become part of Legend's lore in Columbus. Until that happens, there are reasons to wonder if this union isn't as holy as one would've thought once upon a time.
The best-case scenario is so tantalizing when it comes to Bey as a multi-positional threat on the offense and a potential special-teams weapon. Let's hope we get to see it, and there aren't regrets for the talented phenom or the historical juggernaut that won't ignore fit, even if the talent is evident.
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