Biggest Winners and Losers from Ohio State Football Fall Camp So Far

Ohio State Football is two weeks into training camp, and many Buckeyes have already played their way into significant roles for the upcoming season.

With prominent position battles still occurring for the last wide receiver spot, defensive end, and running back, the early play from some are making these battles more clear as Ohio State is 23 days away from their first game of the season.

Early into camp, here are the winners and losers so far for the Buckeyes.

Winner: Isaiah West

Bo Jackson had one of the best freshman seasons from the running back position Ohio State has seen in their program history. As he is expected to have another huge year on the gridiron, it is looking like it will be more in a split backfield role then being the bellcow back.

West has split the first-team reps with Jackson so far in camp, and his ability to catch balls out of the backfield is looking like a perfect scheme fit for the offense new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is bringing to Ohio State.

Jackson should still be the steady back on running downs for the Buckeyes, as his patience and burst in between the tackles won him the starting job midseason in 2025. Yet, in passing situations it is looking like West’s speed and hands are being preferred in an offense that should see a lot more passing volume to running backs than recent years.

Loser: Bo Jackson

Unfortunately, as Isaiah West is a winner with what is looking like a prominent role for himself this season, this taps the potential of the kind of year Jackson can have.

Like said above, Jackson is still expected to take most of the carry share in this offense, but West’s ability in the passing game and fit with Arthur Smith hurts the touches Jackson was expected to have this season and stiff his production.

West also showed a strong ability to run the football with limited carries last year, and Smith has shown he loves to go with the hot back in a matchup. This could create game situations where West gets more touches than Jackson all-around.

Winner: Beau Atkinson

After a disappointing 2025 campaign for Atkinson, he has looked like the favorite to take the starting defensive end job next to Kenyatta Jackson Jr. in returning defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s defense this season.

Atkinson shined early in Ohio State’s spring game, finishing with an interception and a sack where he looked like the stellar contributor he was at North Carolina in 2024, where he finished with 7.5 sacks as a sophomore.

He is still currently battling with Alabama transfer Qua Russaw for the spot, but his experience within the defensive scheme and added comfortability this year seems to be helping the senior, who looks to have the early edge in this position battle.

Loser: John Walker

A lot of hype surrounded Walker and other defensive line transfer commit James Smith when they both committed to the Buckeyes, yet so far in camp it has looked like Walker may be the odd one out in the room.

Returning defensive lineman Eddrick Houston and Smith have been two of the biggest winners of camp so far, showing their ability to be an absolute wrecking crew in the middle for Ohio State this upcoming season. With the stellar play from these two, it could be harder to take them off the field and turn what was thought of as a rotational position for the Buckeyes as more of a consistent one-two punch with Houston and Smith.

Walker still should see some playing time this year, as he flashed enormous potential while at UCF, but it could look much slimmer than when he first committed to Columbus earlier this year.

Winner: Julian Sayin

Sayin is expected to have another Heisman-contending year and has looked sharp in camp, but that is not what puts him in this spot as a winner. It is the play of the receivers and the consistency of the offensive line that does.

Head Coach Ryan Day wanted to have the offensive line set early, and it seems to be with the returning four starters from last year and the addition of Ian Moore at left tackle. This is the most consistent return at offensive line Ohio State has seen in recent years, and this group playing together again should keep Sayin safe from pass rushers regularly.

With this, the depth of the wide receiver room has shown in camp early with stellar play from Devin McCuin, Chris Henry Jr., and Brock Boyd, giving Sayin a multitude of weapons to deal to this upcoming season.

Loser: Jermaine Matthews Jr.

Matthews Jr. being the last loser in this spot speaks more to the overall play of the Buckeyes and the secondary early on in camp than his play.

He did struggle in coverage last Thursday during camp, and the rising play of sophomore Devin Sanchez and Georgia transfer Dominick Kelly could make this position now more rotational in Matt Patricia’s defense. On top of the play from those two, freshman Jay Timmons has also blown coaches away early and lost his black stripe earlier this week.

The third-team all-Big Ten Selection from last season is still expected to be the number one cornerback in this defense without a question coming into this season.

What could result from the depth of this room though is it being hard to keep players like Kelly off the field, and if Sanchez makes the jump that is expected, his size and ability might keep him harder to keep off the field than Matthews Jr. if Kelly earns himself some playing time.

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