Why Isaiah West’s rise is the best news coming out of Ohio State fall camp

Buckeye Talk PodcastRunning back Isaiah West has emerged during fall camp.David Petkiewicz, cleveland.comBy Buckeye Talk Podcast, cleveland.comcleveland.com Express DeskOhio State football fans have spent the better part of a year wondering whether Bo Jackson could carry the load again in 2026. After a thousand-yard season punctuated by a dominant performance against Michigan, expectations were sky-high. But three days into fall camp, a new name is forcing its way into the conversation — and the Buckeyes couldn’t be happier about it.Isaiah West is here. And according to the hosts of Buckeye Talk, he is very, very real.On the latest episode of Buckeye Talk, Andrew Gillis was direct. Ohio State football’s offensive line battle carries into Week 2 of preseason campWhy Isaiah West’s rise is the best news coming out of Ohio State fall campOhio State running backs earn black stripe removal at preseason camp Ohio State football legend Cris Carter makes a bold prediction about Jeremiah Smith“Isaiah West is real, and the Isaiah West hype is real, and I think it’s unequivocally a good thing,” Gillis said.This isn’t a story about a starter losing his job. It’s a story about Ohio State potentially having something it has desperately needed: A legitimate one-two punch in the backfield.West’s path to this moment wasn’t exactly a straight line. He didn’t get cleared until right before the Texas game last season. But something changed in the offseason. Gillis recalled a conversation from June with someone who told him: “Isaiah West is going to surprise.”West’s early camp reps with the first team aren’t just a reward for a good offseason — they’re also a reflection of smart roster management. Jackson, a player who has logged significant snaps alongside Julian Sayin and behind an experienced offensive line, simply doesn’t need every rep right now the way a player like West does. It means West’s rise doesn’t have to come at Jackson’s expense to be meaningful.To be clear, nobody on the Buckeye Talk crew is ready to write off the reigning Buckeyes rushing leader. Stephen Means offered a balanced take on what this all means.“I do not think this is a situation where Isaiah West is snatching all of Bo Jackson’s carries and snaps. This is a situation where Carlos Locklyn has a chance to build depth.”Locklyn may be looking at a room with two great options. When Gillis landed on the best comparison for what this running back split might look like, he went back to 2024 — Quinshon Judkins and Tre’Veyon Henderson. “I think that’s the kind of split you’re going to see with those two,” he said, referencing West and Jackson. “And I think that’s unequivocally good unequivocally a good thing for Ohio State because Isaiah West has looked really really good in the three days.”Means added that neither outcome — West getting the first carry against Texas or Jackson getting it — would surprise him.West has put himself in a position to share a backfield with one of the Big Ten’s most proven backs, and in doing so, he’s made the Buckeyes better. That’s not a problem. That’s a win.Want the full breakdown? The Buckeye Talk crew goes deep on the entire running back room — including what they saw from Legend Bay and why Bo’s response to this adversity might be the most important subplot of camp. Catch the full episode of Buckeye Talk wherever you listen to podcasts.Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk and sign up to get text messages from experts Stephen Means, Stefan Krajisnik and Andrew Gillis at 614-350-3315. Get the insider analysis, have your voice heard on the Buckeye Talk podcast and connect with the best Buckeye community out there.This article was produced with assistance from AI tools and reviewed by Cleveland.com staff.