By Ohio State’s third game of the 2025 season, Bo Jackson had taken over as the No. 1 running back on the team as a freshman.
He eclipsed 1,000 yards, which was the first time a true freshman did so for Ohio State since the 2021 season when TreVeyon Henderson did so.
But for the first two days of 2026 fall camp, it was his counterpart Isaiah West taking the first reps with the starters during practices.
West also had a solid freshman season, earning more work as the season went on. He finished the year with 59 attempts in 10 games for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Now, after what was a very strong offseason of work, according to his coaches and teammates, West seems to be competing for the No. 1 role.
“You can see his body and the work he’s put in. He had a tremendous offseason, one of the best in the whole building,” said head coach Ryan Day. “When he was in there last year, he showed some really good things. We want him to take the next step, just as we do with Bo.”
Both West and Jackson spent the spring watching from the sidelines with shoulder injuries. Jackson told the media on Friday that he’s back to 100 percent, and Day was impressed with the recovery West has had from his surgery.
“When you have the injury he had, sometimes it takes a year or two to get back into it,” Day said. “We’re seeing him look the best, physically, that he’s looked, and that’s so exciting.”
Day pumped the brakes on the Isaiah West breakout season, noting that it was just the first day of practices when he spoke with the media. However, it has to be an encouraging sign after the head coach said in the spring that he thought the running back room had more room to improve than any other in the building.
When Jackson spoke on Friday, he echoed the sentiment that West had a great offseason. Jackson spent much of the offseason with West trying to recover from their respective injuries, so he was able to see it up close.
“We worked together pretty much the whole winter and spring getting our shoulders back right, getting bigger faster and stronger,” Jackson said.
“His (West’s) offseason didn’t surprise me because he always works super hard. He did have a great offseason.”
Jackson understands that it’s always a competition at Ohio State, and he seemed prepared to continue trying to earn the No. 1 role in the offense again.
“It’s a competition between everybody in the whole running back room,” Jackson said.
West and Jackson are also joined by seventh-year college football running back Ja’Kobi Jackson, who transferred from Florida, freshman Legend Bey, who served a suspension for the first two practices of the season for a violation of team rules, sophomore Anthony “Turbo” Rogers” and freshman Favour Akih.
Ja’kobi Jackson’s experience will be a factor for him. He was running through drills after West and Bo Jackson were during the first two days of camp. Then, when Bey returns, the Buckeyes hope that his superlative speed will be able to create some explosiveness that the OSU offense lacked in the run game last year.
But Bo Jackson is also leaning on his experience, saying that it will help him this season when it comes time to play in games. He’s also well aware of Day saying the running back room needs to step up.
