With TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins heading to the NFL, who’ll be the Buckeyes’ running backs in 2025?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Quinshon Judkins’ time at Ohio State was never meant to be long, as he arrived on a mission that was completed to success: a national title.

He arrived as the holder of numerous records at Ole Miss, hoping to compete for a national title while also positioning himself to not have to carry the load of a workhorse back for a third straight year. Even if his position coach changed in the spring from Tony Alford to Carlos Locklyn, the decision was still worth it.

Neither he nor TreVeyon Henderson carried the ball over 200 times, and only Judkins had over 200 touches period.

Judkins ran it 194 times for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns, pairing it with 22 catches for 161 yards and two scores. Henderson ran it 144 times for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns pairing it with 27 catches for 284 yards and a score.

It’s the first time OSU has had two 1,000-yard rushers since Carlos Hyde and Braxton Miller did it in 2011, and the first time two running backs have done so in over 25 years.

Now Ohio State has to replace them both, with Henderson graduating and Judkins off to the NFL. And the Buckeyes are well prepared to do so.

Locklyn got to Columbus in the middle of the spring understanding that he needed both quality and quantity to secure the future of OSU’s running back room. That started on the recruiting trail by signing three 2025 recruits, who before his arrival either didn’t seem all that interested in being Buckeyes, or the Buckeyes didn’t seem all that interested in them.

Bo Jackson, from Cleveland’s Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, headlines that group the nation’s No. 118 player and No. 6 running back.

Isaiah West followed as the nation’s No. 707 player and No. 55 running back. Then Locklyn flipped Anthony “Turbo” Rogers from Alabama last fall as the No. 143 player and No. 9 running back in the Class of 2025

But that wasn’t enough after OSU lost Sam Williams-Dixon to the transfer portal. Locklyn replaced the freshman with veteran CJ Donaldson from West Virginia. There, Donaldson ran for 2,058 yards and 30 touchdowns on 421 carries over the past three years.

Those four will join a player expected to be the face of the room for the next few years.

James Peoples was a four-star recruit in the 2024 class who has spent this year turning heads and learning from Judkins and Henderson behind the scenes. He’s quickly flashed an upside that suggests that the only reason he had just 197 yards on 49 carries in just 94 snaps was more because of the talent ahead of him than his lack of ability.

Judkins’ time in Columbus was always about immediate impact. It’s a route that isn’t foreign to OSU, as it did the same thing with Trey Sermon when he came from Oklahoma in 2020. Sermon, too, was a home run get as part of Ryan Day’s first trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

This time around, a transfer running back from the South helped Day get over the hump, as Judkins capped off his time as a Buckeye with a three-touchdown performance in Monday’s title game against Notre Dame.

Judkins was here for a good time, not a long time. And what a time he had.

Now eyes turn toward the future, where Locklyn’s efforts suggest things can be just as bright.