Make no mistake, one of the most exciting freshmen on Ohio State football’s roster is Legend Bey. Bey’s name has been brought up plenty this spring due to what looks like could be in store for him in the future. 

It’s been an up and down spring overall for the talented freshman running back from wide receiver who is expected to be a Curtis Samuel type of player for the Buckeyes.  

Ohio State fought hard to land Bey in his recruitment and ended up flipping him twice from the Tennessee, the second timing was after he already signed with the Vols. The latest update around Bey at Ohio State is interesting following Friday’s practice. 

Legend Bey appears to have had a number switch at Ohio State for the time being  

Jeremy Birmingham of the Austin and Birm show on 97.1 The Fan recently brought an inserting tidbit to the table from Friday’s practice. 

“He was wearing No. 44 instead of No. 2,” Birmingham said of Bey. “When you are a young guy in this Ohio State football program, when you get to wear a single digit number it’s because you’ve earned it. If he’s no longer earned it, that’s worth telling I think. 

“Legend, I asked him and said, ‘hey what’s up’. He said, ‘don’t worry, I’ll get it back’. He’s not upset about it, he’s like ‘hey this is how it goes when you’re at a place like Ohio State’, and that’s why you choose this place.” 

There have been some early freshman growing pains as to be expected popping up for the 5-foot-10, 177-pound freshman. Bey needs to be more consistent in practice with things such as ball protection, as running backs coach Carlos Locklyn is very tough on the position regarding taking care of the football.  

Legend Bey is still drawing early praise at Ohio State from coaches and teammates

Despite Bey not being the typical No. 2 he is at practice on Friday, Bey is still showing flashes in practice, and his teammates and coaches are high on him. 

“Legend is Legend. That means that this kid’s got a chance to be really good,” Locklyn stated. “But I said the same thing last year about two other kids. That was Bo Jackson and Isaiah West. This kid’s got a chance to be really good.”

Former Florida Gators RB Ja’Kobi Jackson hasn’t been in Columbus long. The Buckeye brought Jackson in with their transfer portal haul and he’s telling it like he sees it with Bey. 

“I say he’s very much explosive as a player,” Jackson said. “He’s an exciting player. I feel like one-on-one versus anybody, he can make people miss, and he’s an exciting player to watch.”

Perhaps the Ohio State coaching staff is just trying to light an early fire under Bey. We have to remember at the end of the day he’s a young man just entering college and still maturing. While it may seem silly, the number change could really matter to Bey. And it could have him moving with a different urgency to get it back. 

Numbers don’t really mean much until fall camp rolls around and things become official. Nonetheless, an interesting note coming out of Ohio State’s second to final week of spring practice.