Once the 2025 season ended, the Ohio State Buckeyes lost a lot of talent to the Transfer Portal. They lost around 30 players in the portal. That includes players from the running back room, which was essentially wrecked by the portal and the NFL losses that happened.
However, Ryan Day was able to build the room back. The top two backs are healthy again, and they have some exciting freshmen coming in. Ohio State also got Ja'Kobi Jackson in the portal. Jackson transferred in from Florida, and he has become the first transfer to lose his stripe in Fall practice.
Ohio State RB Ja'Kobi Jackson sheds his black stripe
Jackson became the first transfer to lose his black stripe in the Fall. A few other guys were able to lose it during spring practice, but Jackson became the first one in the Fall. That means he is officially a member of the Buckeyes and the running back room.
With Legend Bey having some problems in camp, Jackson has seemingly secured his spot as third on the depth chart for the Buckeyes. This is Jackson's seventh year of college football. However, he has only played in the last two years. In those two years, he combined for 607 yards and seven touchdowns, with the bulk of that happening in 2024.
Carlos Locklyn likes to rotate his running backs if he can. He did that during the 2024 season between TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Both ran for over 1,000 yards and helped the Buckeyes win a national championship. Jackson can be a critical piece, too.
If either Bo Jackson or Isaiah West gets hurt, the former Gator can step in and take some carries. He has proven to be a good addition to the running back room. His added depth at least gives the coaching staff peace of mind when it comes to figuring out who can play and who can't.
Ohio State has scary depth on the offensive side of the ball
At most positions, the Buckeyes have some scary depth on the offensive side of the ball. On the offensive line, the coaching staff has been rotating different lineups to figure out the starting lineup. They have enough depth that seven different players have a shot at starting.
At running back, Ohio State has already shown that they have enough guys at the top of the depth chart to be just fine when the season rolls around. Of course, the offensive line will help them in that endeavor, as well. At tight end, Ohio State has two new ones from the portal.
Wide receiver remains the only position where the depth is questionable. Ohio State still needs to find out who the second receiver opposite Jeremiah Smith is going to be. They also need to figure out the slot and who the fourth and fifth guys are. Quite frankly, the entire room besides JJ is in flux.
Day has a couple more weeks to figure it out before the regular season begins.
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