Ryan Day didn’t dodge it when he joined 97.1 The Fan on Friday for an offseason edition of The Ryan Day Show. It’s the first public update the Ohio State head coach has given since their CFP quarterfinal loss to Miami, and it immediately reshaped the spring narrative. The Buckeyes will open spring practice without the top of its RB room.

Ryan Day confirmed that Bo Jackson and Isaiah West will both miss all 15 spring practices after undergoing shoulder surgeries. That removes what is expected to be the RB1-RB2 combo for the 2026 season. Spring ball is where timing, trust, and separation charts are built and Ohio State’s most proven backs won’t be part of it.

Bo Jackson’s absence is the headliner. The freshman was Ohio State’s most reliable offensive weapon in 2025. He led the team with 179 carries for 1,090 rushing yards and 14 TDs. He also added 22 receptions for 161 yards and two more scores. Ryan Day reiterated that he profiles as a true three-down back, but development will go on pause this spring.

Isaiah West’s loss stings differently but just as significantly. The freshman quietly carved out the No. 2 role for long stretches of the season, finishing with 59 carries for 310 yards (5.3 per carry) and two TDs. He flashed in rotation-heavy games including Wisconsin, Purdue, and UCLA before Ohio State leaned back on CJ Donaldson against Miami. That leaves a spring runway wide open, and Ryan Day didn’t shy away from acknowledging it. 

Their absence means Florida transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson, sophomore Turbo Rogers, and freshmen Favour Akih and Legend Bey are about to get real reps. Ryan Day specifically praised Ja’Kobi Jackson’s talent who ran for 1,390 yards and 14 TDs at Coahoma Community College, followed by 509 yards and seven scores as Florida’s No. 2 back in 2024. His 2025 season ended early due to injury, but spring at Ohio State offers a reset and a genuine shot at climbing the chart.

Ryan Day was even more animated when discussing 5’11, 175 pound Legend Bey, the 4-star freshman flip from Tennessee.
“He’s dynamite,” he said. “I’ve called him a poor man’s Tyreek Hill. He’s lightning in a bottle, and he can do a lot of things for us.”

He’s ranked No. 149 overall in the 2026 class by 247Sports, and spring will be about how quickly that speed translates to Saturdays. And that brings us to the bigger concern beneath the injury report. Spring injuries expose why Ohio State still isn’t finished fixing its run game.

Ryan Day’s RB room needs to be better

Ohio State’s run game never truly found consistency in 2025 outside of Ann Arbor. The offensive line took heat, perimeter blocking wasn’t clean, but the RBs weren’t immune either. The season opened with Donaldson and James Peoples as co-starters against Texas, and it went nowhere fast with 77 rushing yards on 34 carries, a brutal 2.3 yards per carry, with the passing game and defense bailing Ryan Day’s team out.

Bo Jackson changed that trajectory. He ripped off consecutive 100-yard games against Grambling State and Ohio. He then seized RB1 status at Washington with 17 carries for 80 yards and never gave the job back. His performance against Michigan, which recorded 117 rushing yards, 49 receiving yards, 166 total, was a reminder that freshmen can still define this rivalry early. 

That said, the Miami tape showed the next step isn’t optional. Bo Jackson struggled to create after contact, got exposed in pass protection, and averaged just 2.5 yards after contact against the Hurricanes after posting 4.1 on the season per PFF. That context is why these spring absences matter. Development doesn’t pause for contenders, and Ryan Day still has work to do. The future of the room is exciting but the present still needs sharpening.