The Ohio State Buckeyes have another top-ranked recruiting class joining the program with the 2025 class. While most of the attention has gone toward No. 1 overall player Tavien St. Clair , Ohio State also has an elite running back coming to campus next year. His name is Bo Jackson, and his season-opening performance just reassured the Buckeyes of the star he'll be.
Jackson, from Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland, Ohio, is a four-star rusher ranked third in the country at his position. Buckeyes assistant Carlos Locklyn was his primary recruiter, and Jackson locked in with the Buckeyes back in June.
On Friday night, Jackson exploded for 173 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. See some of the highlights below.
Jackson's best highlight was a 46-yard run where he had to bounce the play outside of the tackle box due to a defender getting into the backfield. Jackson's electric speed and vision were on full display, He shed a tackler and then raced back to the middle of the field and accelerated away from the pack.
This is the type of athleticism you'd expect a future Buckeyes star to look like against high schoolers. Jackson's scouting report, in part, reads :
Ability to stack cuts together to find green grass in the open field is extremely impressive considering his size. Routinely showcases impressive contact balance and consistently runs through arm tackles. Elite short area quickness and agility show up plenty on tape while evading defenders at the second level and has been verified in a combine setting.
He certainly shows that off in this clip. His next score was a short-yardage example of his power. At the goal line, Jackson takes a strong first step upfield, lowers his shoulder as the defender crashes into his left side, and then bulldozed through the traffic to convert the score. He broke a total of three tacklers' attempts.
Finally, his 55-yard touchdown run was another chance to see his breakaway speed in action. Jackson is so fast that he can erase the tackling angles of would-be tacklers. Watch how he executes this run, makes a slight move to make a defender pay for overpursuing, and then sprints past the rest of the defense at the 10-yard mark.
The early outlook for Jackson continue to rise, and we're excited to be tracking his 2024 season right here.
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