Expected Ohio State star is losing opportunities after flailing in early-season touches
The Ohio State Buckeyes continued to look like easily the best team in college football this week, disposing of the Illinois Fighting Illini with relative ease. Their 34-16 win featured a bit of a sluggish offensive performance, but one that made timely plays and warmed up as the game progressed. With the midway point of […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes continued to look like easily the best team in college football this week, disposing of the Illinois Fighting Illini with relative ease. Their 34-16 win featured a bit of a sluggish offensive performance, but one that made timely plays and warmed up as the game progressed. With the midway point of the season being here, it’s clear that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has made a personnel decision we didn’t expect.
It was running back James Peoples who was expected to star like JK Dobbins once did in this offense. A slasher with impressive speed and flexibility, Peoples made the most of his 49 carries in 2024 as the third back. Now a sophomore, it was assumed he’d be a tandem back with senior transfer addition CJ Donaldson.
Instead, the Illinois game revealed much more. Peoples is now firmly behind freshman phenom Bo Jackson and Donaldson.
James Peoples falls to third on Ohio State depth chart
Getting only five carries for seven yards in a game where the Buckeyes attempted 35 rushes isn’t a promising outcome for Peoples. The former four-star back isn’t fully at fault, as the blocking on his touches hasn’t been as good as it has for Jackson, but some of that is for a reason. When Peoples is in the game, defenses are keying in on him and the run game.
Even some fans have keyed in on offensive coordinator Brian Hartline’s tendencies.
“Red Zone playcalling is wild. Alsp their tendency are obvious when James Peoples is in the game. When Peoples comes in it’s 95% run and it’s for 2 yards,” one user said.
Instead, Jackson had 10 carries despite being banged up, and Donaldson led the team with 13 touches. The Buckeyes as a whole struggled to win the line of scrimmage battle, averaging 3.1 yards per carry on the day.
What all this means for Peoples isn’t encouraging. He’s likely entering his final half-season with the program if things don’t change. While Donaldson will graduate in the spring, the Buckeyes have Isaiah West and Turbo Rodgers already in-house and ready to supplant him. The competition will only ramp up in 2026 with another batch of newcomers.
