Ohio State just became thinner at a key position that they may look to transfer portal to address

Ohio State may need a third running back from the transfer portal

The top two running backs will be TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Henderson came back for another year instead of entering the NFL Draft and Judkins was the top running back in the portal following last season. Once Judkins became a Buckeye, losing Hayden became a potential with fewer touches available.

Hayden stepped in as a freshman when his name was called and had 553 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games. When Henderson was down with an injury, Hayden and Miyan Williams stepped up.

The Buckeyes do have freshman RB James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon in the fold but it may not be fair to ask them to step in right away in a backup role.

Ohio State could turn attention to the transfer portal to find a back that can be the third guy, or they could insert a freshman if the trust is there. Either way, the Buckeyes are strong at the top of the depth chart and shouldn’t have a large impact on the field from the transfer of Hayden.