A big reason why the Ohio State football team was able to win the national championship last year was because of its running game. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins were able to break big runs for big plays many times over the course of the year.
Now, both of those running backs are in the NFL. They are at the next level, and the Buckeyes have to find guys to replace them. Even though both of those backs were very good, Ohio State feels that they have two dynamic backs who can take their place in 2025.
James Peoples is likely going to be the starter for the Ohio State Buckeyes this season. He showed some flashes in the limited amount of playing time he got last year. Ohio State also got CJ Donaldson from the transfer portal, giving them a guy who has proven success at the P4 level.
The Ohio State football team has two dynamic backs in to replace the ones they just lost
Everyone knows how good both Henderson and Judkins were, the Buckeyes believe that production won't fall off very much with Peoples and Donaldson in the backfield. Those guys can do a lot of the same things that Henderson and Judkins could do, just not quite as well.
It helps that the Buckeyes have the best player in college football on the outside. Jeremiah Smith is going to command a ton of attention from opponents all season long, which should open up the running game for Ohio State. Both backs are going to help Ohio State win a lot of games this year.
Outside fan bases don't expect Ohio State's offense to be as good next season. Those in Columbus know that this offense can still be extremely dangerous. The running game might take a couple of games to get going, but it should be dynamic by the end of the season.