Ohio State football begins a new chapter of the Ryan Day era with a revamped staff and roster

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nick Saban was sitting in the concourse of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta last month, stationed behind the desk of ESPN’s College GameDay.

As Ohio State prepared to face Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship on the home turf of the Falcons, Saban — yet again — expressed his support for the Buckeyes’ coach.

Ohio State Receives Major Transfer Portal News on Wednesday

After a College Football Playoff National Championship season, the Ohio State Buckeyes should have no trouble

retaining players. However, that’s not the case with so many competing interests trying to earn their way onto the field. Running back Sam Williams-Dixon entered the transfer portal on January 21, just before the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff semifinal game against Texas. The 2024 four-star recruit on 247Sports earned limited playing time in his true freshman season. He only saw seven carries for 53 yards in three games for Ohio State. Williams-Dixon let the Buckeyes know he would withdraw from the transfer portal and return to the program. Ohio State running back Sam Williams-Dixon has withdrawn from the transfer portal, @On3sports has learned.

Ohio State’s top running backs last year, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, are headed for the 2025 NFL Draft.

In December, Ohio State secured a transfer portal commitment from running back CJ Donaldson from West Virginia. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound back from Miami, Florida, rushed for 734 yards and 11 touchdowns last year for the Mountaineers. Williams-Dixon’s competition for touches next season will likely be Donaldson and fellow freshman back James Peoples. The Buckeyes also added three running backs as part of their 2025 recruiting class: Anthony Rogers, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West. Rogers was ranked No. 97 in 247Sports’ 2025 composite rankings.

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.

Two months later, Williams-Dixon has backed off that decision choosing to return to the Buckeyes.

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.