With the exodus of J.K. Dobbins goes a ton of production in the backfield — one of the best in the history of the program. The buzz through the offseason is the highly touted graduate transfer Trey Sermon looks like he will be the starter this season. However, if Master Teague is healthy for falls camp, things might be more of a competition than many think. There are also younger players behind them that are hungry such as Marcus Crowley and Steele Chambers who could make things interesting.
Let’s take a look at the two main options because the starting spot will more than likely come down between Oklahoma grad transfer Sermon, and what many thought was the heir apparent to Dobbins — one Mr. Teague.
First … Trey Sermon
Trey Sermon
So far it is very easy as to why Sermon is the most likely to be the starter for the season opener. Not only is he healthy but his talent is through the roof. The one question is his ability to stay healthy, but as always, time will tell. A former 4-star running back out of Marietta, Georgia with tremendous upside, he was originally recruited by Ohio State out of high school. He leaves fans hopeful about next year. But there are questions.
Is he durable? How will he acclimate to a new culture? What are the real reasons why he fell behind on the depth chart at Oklahoma? Those and more will determine just how productive and dynamic Sermon is behind a pretty veteran offensive line in 2020.
Next … Master Teague
Master Teague
Master Teague, if healthy, was poised to be the main cog in 2020. As a backup to Dobbins, he nearly ran for 1,000 yards and earned 3rd team all-big ten honors for his production last year. The question remains if and when will he be healthy? If you believe the coachspeak, he could be ready for the season, but there’s still no real information coming out on just how serious the injury to his Achilles is.
When he comes back there is almost no question that he will produce, but will he be relegated to a backup spot once again with Sermon now in the mix? Injuries have hurt the running back depth chart, but you have to believe we’ll see at least some dose Teague who is both explosive and bruising.
At the end of the day, there are some questions, but perhaps two answers are being filled out as we speak. In fact, we may very well see a two-headed monster in the backfield. That wouldn’t be all bad. It reminds me of the old Boom and Zoom combo of Boom Heron and Jordan Hall, and in most recent memory, the combo of Dobbins and Mike Weber.
Don’t fret Buckeye Nation, there’s going to be options at the running back position, and Ohio State will be more than fine there next year, especially with the ability Justin Fields has to tuck it and go.
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