While the Heisman spotlight at Ohio State shines brightly on newcomers Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith, the real story might be brewing in the backfield under the team’s new offensive architect. According to ESPN’s Josh Pate, the Arthur Smith-led Buckeyes’ featured tailback, Bo Jackson, could ruin the entire competition.

“You don’t want to go the quarterback route if you are anti-quarterback. Bo Jackson is your guy,” analyst Josh Pate said on his College Football show. ” He was in the 80s if you were anti-quarterback, and he will be in 2026 if you’re anti-quarterback. Now, he’s not playing at Auburn. He’s playing at Ohio State. A good tailback is coming back. Had a good year last year, could have a great year this year.”

“The Buckeyes just hired Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator, building a Death Star of a coaching staff in Columbus. That’s kind of what Ryan Day does now. So, you’ve got a run-first guy plus that offensive line plus this talent at tailback. I think Bo Jackson at plus 10,000 odds is okay,” Pate added.

According to 247Sports, Ohio State running backs Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin both have much better Heisman odds at 9 to 1, while Bo Jackson is tied for 32nd with much longer odds of 80 to 1. This means Smith and Sayin are considered much more likely to win the award than Jackson. But even though the hype is more on the QB side, Jackson is one of the remarkable players in Ryan Day’s offense.

By crossing the 1,000-yard mark as a freshman,  Bo Jackson joined an elite club of Buckeye legends like Maurice Clarett and J.K. Dobbins, signaling his potential to be the next great back in Columbus. Also, Jackson became the 28th Ohio State player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 1960, which has been done only 40 times in history.

Then came Ohio State’s game against Ohio, where Bo Jackson ran 64 yards, which was the longest run for the Buckeyes this season. He ran past several defenders, even pushing one away with a stiff arm, and reached the 11-yard line before going out of bounds. Jackson is very good at taking small openings and turning them into big gains, turning short spaces into much longer runs with his speed and power.

The Buckeyes’ wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith, has placed his trust in Jackson’s elite playmaking ability since the beginning.

“I’ve been saying it. Like I said, Bo Jackson is that guy,” Smith said after the game. “You’re gonna be seeing that throughout the rest of the season.”

All this gained him attention from other analysts, too. As per ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, Ryan Day has three players on the team for the Heisman race. Now, Smith and Sayin are obvious choices, and Bo Jackson also earns attention.

Let’s not forget Ryan Day got Arthur Smith, who brings 17 years of NFL experience. In fact, he is the only recent coach or coordinator to have seven different running backs, including Derrick Henry and Bijan Robinson, each gain over 1,000 yards in a season. But for now, Bo Jackson’s absence is taking a toll on spring practice.

Ryan Day’s running back room shapes up in spring practice

Ohio State lost 31 players who chose to transfer to other schools this offseason, so a lot of players left the team. Even with so many leaving, coach Ryan Day says the team still has a lot of experience because they brought in older, experienced players from the Transfer Portal.

As spring practice begins, some players aren’t able to practice because of injuries. Two of the most important names on that list, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, two of Ohio State’s main running backs, won’t play in spring practice because they are healing from shoulder surgeries. This gives other players a chance to get more practice and show what they can do.

Losing them in spring, where the team could have built chemistry with the QB, and Jackson and West would have taught young players, Ryan Day is now functioning without them. Their production shows why it’s a tough loss. Last season, Bo Jackson ran for 1,090 yards and scored six touchdowns on 179 carries, making him Ohio State’s top running back. Isaiah West added 310 yards and two touchdowns on 59 carries.

Now that James Peoples has already left for Penn State and Jackson and West are out, most of last year’s top running backs won’t be available, so Jeremiah Smith could take up the running back role for spring practice. Then there’s Ja’Kobi Jackson and Anthony “Turbo” Rogers, who are also getting more reps to develop themselves ahead of the game. With a running back room ready to roar, it remains to be seen how things turn out for Ryan Day’s team.