James Peoples Knows The Work Required To Be RB1 At Ohio State

The Buckeyes went into the 2024 season with a pair of experienced and productive running backs in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, which meant that snaps weren’t going to be easy for a freshman running back who was coming in looking to make a mark. It also meant, however, that there would be few better opportunities to learn what it takes to be a starting tailback at a major college football program like Ohio State than by watching Judkins and Henderson on a daily basis.

James Peoples was that freshman a year ago, running third behind the duo that shared the running game workload in helping to lead the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Peoples carried the ball 49 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns last year, seeing action in eight games as a freshman.

Now a sophomore, he is being looked upon to lead the way for the Buckeyes. Ohio State running backs coach Carlos Locklyn added West Virginia tailback CJ Donaldson via the transfer portal, and redshirt freshman Sam Williams-Dixon is back as well, but the expectations are very high this year for James Peoples.

How is Peoples feeling about those expectations?

“Feeling good,” he said this spring. “Last year I learned a lot, especially with the guys in the room with Trey and Q, so I learned a lot of things last year. And now this year, just looking to get better, improving the areas I need improvement and helping these young guys come along with me.”

Ignoring the fact that Peoples is a “young guy” himself, players are asked to grow up quickly at Ohio State. Every day is a process, but the more mature a player is, the more they can get done on a daily basis. Peoples learned that last year watching a pair of productive veterans.

The biggest lesson he learned came from TreVeyon Henderson.

“Approach every day like it’s your last day,” Peoples said. “I talked a lot with Trey. He just picked that one thing he could get better at every day. So taking that and bringing that into this year, one thing I can get better at every day. And then upholding the standard as well in the running back room. It’s been great. So that’s one thing I did take away.”

Henderson and Judkins weren’t the only Buckeye running backs he learned from, however. The first was former All-American JK Dobbins, who Peoples grew up watching.

“I grew up on Ohio State fan actually,” said Peoples, whose parents are both from Ohio.

From the day the Buckeyes landed a commitment from Peoples, the comparisons to Dobbins began. Like Dobbins, Peoples is from Texas, and both players were listed around 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds as prospects.

Peoples watched Dobbins and borrowed what he could, and believes there are similarities, but also that he is his own back.

“Similarities, just how he’s a one-cut slasher, but he has a good jump cut,” Peoples said. “I did play a good amount last year, but of course y’all didn’t get a chance to see me fully open up. So this year y’all will see that, but there’s a lot of similarities in our game and just how he moves. And of course our statistics as well — height, weight, they make all that comparison. But at the end of the day, I am my own back. But that’s a good comparison, yeah.”

Dobbins was a freshman starter for the Buckeyes in 2017, which is something that Peoples didn’t need to be, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have been ready and willing had the opportunity presented itself.

“I started feeling comfortable definitely around fall camp,” Peoples said of his freshman season. “When you start getting the reps and things started ramping up. I felt confident in myself since I got here, but especially in the system and in how much I learned and knew about the playbook and everything. I really started feeling like I fit in right there.”

Peoples is now taking everything he has learned and everything he knows he can do and putting it into being the kind of running back the Buckeyes need in order to reach another set of lofty goals.

He knows what it takes and he knows what it means.

“It’s a great honor,” he said. “I mean, this is RBU and it always has been since I was growing up watching them. So to be the next one in line, potentially — I got to work for it, but it’s an honor and I take it humbly. There’s a lot that goes with that, so that’s an honor.”

James Peoples didn’t need to be a workhorse right away, he simply needed to be ready when his time came. Now, after spending a year in the shadows, the shadows are about to give way to the spotlight.

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