DEAL CONFIRMED: An Ohio State Buckeyes Running Back Sam Williams-Dixon Has Officially Committed To A $167m 3 Years Deal With Tennesse Volunteers

An Ohio State running back is withdrawing his name from the transfer portal

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the second straight offseason an Ohio State football player has had a change of heart in regards to his future.

Sam Williams-Dixon came into the 2024 season understanding that it be a developmental year. He arrived as a three-star recruit in a situation where he’d start at running back even if he didn’t spend his entire career there. He played nine snaps in three games turning seven carries into 53 yards.

After one year, he elected to enter the transfer portal despite the running back room losing TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Even with the addition of CJ Donaldson, Williams-Dixon was expected to be no less than third in the hierarchy behind the West Virginia transfer and James Peoples. It made his choice to leave an interesting and unexpected one.

This is the second straight year OSU has experienced a player entering the portal after his freshman season only to later choose to return. Wide receiver Bryson Rodgers made a similar move last year before withdrawing his name. He played 162 snaps this year, catching five passes for 92 yards.

Williams-Dixon’s return is a positive for both sides.

He gets to continue his development this spring where reps could be an abundance as the Buckeyes try to replace the production of two 1,000-yard running backs in Henderson and Judkins.

Ohio State adds an important depth piece to a room that’ll lack experience in 2025. Joining the trio of Donaldson, Peoples and Williams-Dixon are freshman early enrollees Bo Jackson and Isaiah West along with Turbo Rogers joining the team later this summer.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ryan Day is pulling up a chair to a table where Bill Belichick is the only other person sitting, thanks to his latest hire as Ohio State’s head coach.

Day’s bringing in Matt Patricia, a longtime NFL assistant who also was the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2018-20. A decision that probably has as many pros as cons.

This hire will end in one of two ways. In the best-case scenario, Day has found another “head coach of the defense” capable of taking all the talent the four other assistants have recruited and developed and creating another elite unit. Jim Knowles spent the last three years doing that before heading off to Penn State.