Get Excited, Buckeyes Will 'Pound The Rock' This Year

No team in the Big Ten has rushed for more yards than the Buckeyes since Ryan Day took over as head coach in 2019. They are also the only team in the conference to average more than 200 yards rushing in that span.

Those numbers even include last year’s dramatic downturn, which saw Ohio State rush for just 138.9 yards per game. It was their lowest total in two decades, and it’s a number that head coach Ryan Day doesn’t ever want to see again.

The plan this year was put in place early on for the Ohio State quarterbacks to be more involved in the running game, which will at least create some doubt in a crashing defender that maybe he should slow down a half-step. That half-step may then become the difference between a three-yard loss and a 30-yard gain.

Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins have each rushed for over 2,700 yards in their respective careers, and both have been in discussion for the best running back in college football during their careers.

The addition of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator has only bolstered the running game. Kelly has always had productive rushing attacks in college, and now he’s got the kind of lineup that can literally hit the ground running.

All of this has created a certain level of excitement within the team.

“We run the rock,” said redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Carson Hinzman. “We pound the rock, man. It’s going to be really fun this year.”

Ryan Day’s offenses have always been labeled “pass-first” but those pass-first offenses led the Big Ten in rushing by 33 yards in 2019 and 55 yards in 2020. The rushing attempts then dipped in 2021 and 2022, but with a quarterback like CJ Stroud, it’s easier to understand why. But even in those two seasons, the Buckeyes still finished first and second, respectively, in yards per carry.

Then last year came, and so did injuries and inconsistencies.

Much of the focus has been on Kelly’s creativity in the running game, and for good reason, but offensive line coach Justin Frye’s five-man crew is experienced and eager to put last year behind them. They’ve all heard the criticism, but more importantly they’ve seen the film.

They’ve also seen the results in practice.

“I just think the way we’re running the ball and the schemes we’re going to implement this year, it’s going to be very, very difficult for teams to combat that,” Hinzman said. “The amazing offensive minds of Coach Kelly, Coach Hart, obviously Coach Day, and Coach Frye, I think they’ve come together and made some really, really fun plays. Not only, obviously, really good schemes, but there’s some cool plays in there as well that we’ve loved too.”

The Buckeyes had one of the best defenses in the nation last year, and they return most of those players this year. Hinzman spent his first two years as a Buckeye trying to run on those defenses in practice, and it’s never gone as well as it’s going right now.

“I remember my freshman year and last year, our defense is the number one defense in the country, and now we’ve been able to really — obviously, we’re not going to beat them up or anything like that, we’ve been able to move the ball a little bit, so it’s been fun seeing that and seeing the guys really get into it,” he said.

The Ohio State running game is expected to revert back closer to normal this year regardless of the offensive coordinator because last season was such an outlier and this year’s talent and experience are more in line with what a good ground game looks like.

But then you add in Chip Kelly, and Buckeye fans might want to get excited.

“I think Coach Kelly has been awesome in the fact of he’s a very open-minded coach with the stuff he tries,” Hinzman said. “So, like, we’ll be reading the script or reading whatever, and we’re like, ‘This is what we’re going to run out of this?‘ Like, okay. And it hits for 40 yards. Like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever.‘ So, I’m really excited for this year. I think everyone else should be too.”