The addition of veteran Ja'Kobi Jackson to Ohio State's running back group is pushing sophomore Bo Jackson.
"I think that everybody needs to feel pressure," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. "Everybody needs to feel competition. ... It's a good thing."
Bo Jackson rushed for a team-leading 1,090 yards last season, becoming the program's first freshman to rush for more than 1,000 yards since TreVeyon Henderson
in 2021.But when Florida transfer Ja'Kobi Jackson joined Ohio State in January with five years of collegiate experience under his belt, and with Bo Jackson needing offseason shoulder surgery, it was unclear how the two would split the load.
What is clear now is both backs can contribute. Through five games, Bo Jackson has 66 carries for 353 rushing
yards and two touchdowns, while Ja'Kobi Jackson has logged 45 carries for 278 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
"There are some plays we know I'm going to run, and there are some plays he's going to run," Ja'Kobi Jackson said. "More plays to get him on the outside, and more inside, power runs for me."
The two running backs had one of their best outings of the season during the 31-14 road win over Iowa on Oct. 3, contributing 144 rushing yards of Ohio State's 160-yard total. It was the Buckeyes' best rushing performance since they posted 237 yards in the season-opener against Ball State.
"They ran downhill, and they were physical," Day said. "Our running game right now, when you look at the efficiency, is solid. But we want to be more explosive still, and we want to create bigger runs. I think that they're there to be had."
Ja'Kobi Jackson echoed the sentiment, especially the part about still seeking improvement.
"We run the ball hard," he said. "Just continuously making the right reads when we're running the ball, breaking tackles, and pass pro, just picking up blitzes. That's where we make each other better."
According to Day, Ja'Kobi Jackson coming into the program and challenging Bo Jackson resembles the impact former Ohio State running back Quinshon Jenkins had on Henderson.
After his 1,248-yard freshman season, Henderson totaled 571 and 926 yards during his sophomore and junior campaigns, respectively. He failed to crack the 1,000-yard mark again until Jenkins transferred in from Mississippi in 2024. Having Jenkins helped push Henderson, who recorded 1,016 yards while Jenkins added 1,060 during the Buckeyes' national championship run.
"They were challenging each other every day," Day said. "I think Quinshon really helped TreVeyon in a lot of ways, and I think vice versa.
"Well, it's the same thing here. Ja'Kobi's coming in, and I think he's pushing Bo, but they have a great relationship. I think it's a healthy relationship, a healthy little competition. ... When you think about the teams that make deep runs, they have running backs they can count on, that are big-time backs that play at a high level."
bmackay@dispatch.com
@brimackay15
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State RB Ja'Kobi Jackson is challenging Bo Jackson this season
