It has been a rough first few months of college football for exciting Ohio State freshman running back Legend Bey.
To start off his collegiate career, he was getting a lot of hype during spring practice. His ability to make people miss and make plays with the ball in his hands was electrifying. However, he was suspended early in Fall camp and then struggled a bit when he did start practice.
After a crazy touchdown run against Ball State, it seemed that Bey was well on his way to making an impact on the team as a freshman. However, he didn't play at all against Illinois, and it seems like he's in the doghouse. Ryan Day all but confirmed that fact.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day says that Legend Bey needs to build trust
During his weekly press conference in advance of the game against Iowa, Day mentioned that Bey still needs to build trust with the coaches. When asked about whether he was going to play against the Hawkeyes, Day mentioned that it would be determined by how he practices.
"That'll be based on how the practice goes this week, how he does. We all know his ability level. He's just got to continue to work to build trust, but we would definitely love to see him on the field."
Day has the power to put Bey on the field. He is very clearly in the doghouse, and it must be for mistakes he makes in practice. Nothing he has done in games has been egregious yet, even though he made two special teams errors against Ball State in his first-ever game.
Whatever the source of the tension is, it doesn't seem that Bey is that close to surging up the depth chart. Bo Jackson, Ja'Kobi Jackson, and Isaiah West are all ahead of him on the depth chart. If Bey can't find the field, he's going to stay buried below those guys.
Ohio State needs as many playmakers as possible against Iowa
The Buckeyes need as many playmakers as possible against a really good Iowa defense this week. Iowa is the best defense in the country when it comes to points per game. Scoring is not going to be as easy as it was in three of the four games they have played so far.
The only defense that compares to what the Hawkeyes will have for them is Texas. However, the Buckeyes rolled in the first half of that game before falling apart. This will be the first time that we really get a chance to see if the adjustments they made will pay off late in a game.
Bey is someone who can gain a lot of yards once he has the ball in his hands. He showed that in that first game against the Cardinals. However, if he keeps making mistakes in practice, he won't get a chance to show off his skills against Iowa.
At this point, Bey may have to try to learn from his mistakes and make more of an impact next season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google