What Brought Sam Williams-Dixon Back To Ohio State?

In college football, most true freshman seasons are spent learning how to be both a college student and a college football player. It is rarely an easy transition, especially when that freshman season has transitions of its own.

One year ago, freshman running back Sam Williams-Dixon was going through his first spring as a Buckeye. The team had two spring practices, then was off for spring break. In that time off, OSU running backs coach Tony Alford announced that he was leaving for the same position at Michigan.

Head coach Ryan Day then took over as the running backs coach for a week or so before hiring Carlos Locklyn from Oregon. It was quite a first three months for everybody in the Ohio State running backs room.

Sam Williams-Dixon played in three games as a true freshman, rushing for 53 yards on seven attempts. He chose to enter the transfer portal shortly after Ohio State’s win in the Rose Bowl over No. 1 Oregon. Five weeks later, he withdrew his name and returned to OSU.

This week, the Buckeye running backs met with reporters and Williams-Dixon explained why he entered the portal and also why he came back.

“It started with just me listening to the wrong people,” he explained. “I had to take care of my life. I didn’t have control of it and now I’ve got control of it and I’m doing my own thing. So that’s what it really was. But what brought me back was I didn’t want to leave. I love it here, man. I didn’t want to leave, so that’s what brought me back.”

It can be easy for a true freshman to feel lost in the shuffle when they are not playing, especially on a team that is in the middle of a championship run. That’s where Williams-Dixon found himself — but only for a bit.

“At the time I was just trying to listen to my peers because I was a freshman,” he said. “I didn’t know about much, so I had to listen to my peers and go from there. But back then I didn’t have control of my life. I just had to regain it and do what I need to do.”

What did he learn from the whole of his freshman season?

“What I learned? I’ve got to grow up. I had to grow up from where I was to now,” he said.

He views this year is an opportunity for him to reframe himself, refocus, and restart his Ohio State career.

Now back in control of his path, Williams-Dixon has also reconnected with Carlos Locklyn. He admitted that their relationship was “a little shaky” last year, but when Williams-Dixon returned, the two of them sat down and forged something special.

“Now we have those man-to-man talks,” he said. “We have conversations, so it’s really good.”

Williams-Dixon is not always a talkative person, so part of that maturing was being the aggressor in many of their conversations.

“Yeah, I definitely had to be more aggressive in talking,” he said. “I don’t talk much. I’ve always been like that. I just, like I said, I had to grow up.”

Now that spring practice is underway and all of the previous events are in his rearview mirror, Sam Williams-Dixon is back to playing football and creating his own path to the field this season.

Ultimately, this is why he decided to fight his way back to the Buckeyes.

“Personally, I think I can definitely make an impact,” he said. “I can get on the field, make a name for myself, and prove to myself that I can do this.”

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