When Ohio State lost Sampson James via a flip to Indiana in early October, there were some pretty fair concerns about Ohio State’s running back recruiting in 2019. With James out, the possible options list was short, and filled with players like Noah Cain, for whom Ohio State interest had already passed. The Buckeyes poked around at some players they’d looked at but ultimately moved on from, but couldn’t find any answers there.
With those options exhausted, Ohio State looked elsewhere, and landed on Trinity Christian Academy back and Miami commit Marcus Crowley. Crowley, a three-star, 6-foot-1 back looks quite a bit like the kind of back Ohio State has had for the last seven years under Urban Meyer, and seems to be the perfect fit for a Ryan Day offense.