Ohio State benefited from the greatest single-season rushing performance in program history last year.

This year, the ground game will be taken on by committee.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said he expects the majority of the carries to be split evenly between sophomore Master Teague III and Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon.

“Master has come off his injury and looks like he has a chance, especially with the season being delayed,” Wilson said. “He’s doing everything and looks really good. Trey has come in and he’s very smart, looks very good, catches it well.”

Wilson mentioned that the running back room is filled with more talent than just the two starters. Redshirt freshman Steele Chambers leads the second group along with a handful of young halfbacks.

Still, the combination of Sermon and Teague will be Ohio State’s go-to in 2020.

“We’ve got five guys that are splitting a lot of work, the bulk of it is being split between Master and Trey with the ones, and Steele and the other guys are managing our second team,” Wilson said. “I think it’ll be a 50-50 ballpark as we start.”

Teague is continuing working his way back from an Achilles injury suffered in one of the team’s few spring practices. Last season, he finished No. 7 in the Big Ten with 789 rushing yards as Dobbins’ backup.

When Sermon chose Ohio State as his destination after three seasons at Oklahoma, many expected him to take on full-time starting duties. However, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day mentioned on Thursday the possibility of Teague moving into the starter position.

“Master had a good strong year last year, but now he’s gotta take that next step from being a two to being a one,” Day said on 97.1 The Fan.

Since transferring in March, Sermon has been extremely limited on time practicing in a full-contact, full-team setting. Wilson said that lack of experience with the team is still developing, but sees a three-back system on the table come Oct. 24.

“We don’t have enough with Trey yet to say, ‘Okay, it’s this or that,’” Wilson said. “We’re still bringing Steele and the young guys along. I would anticipate coach Alford getting to where three guys are playing.”

Even with limited time to adjust to the new system and personnel at Ohio State, Sermon received high praise from his blockers on Friday for his work ethic from the very beginning.

“Trey’s been great. He’s a practice player. He goes hard in practice,” senior tight end Jake Hausmann said. “I don’t think he really skipped a beat when he came over here. He knew how to go hard from the jump.”

Going from one all-time great running back to a pair of hard-nosed, physical players will be an adjustment for everyone.

Junior tight end Jeremy Ruckert said the duo has already been a steady presence for the offense in the very early going.

“It seems like they both really understand how to practice hard. Coming in, it must be tough to understand and buy into the culture, but it seems like Trey hasn’t missed any steps with that. He comes in and he just practices hard,” Ruckert said. “It just seems like they can be reliable, every-down guys.”

With a shortened season and no clear number one back, Ohio State may not have a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time since its 6-7 season nine years ago.

There is no time to sit back and admire Dobbins’ 2019 performance. This running back group is ready to step up as a group and fill in the 2,000-yard gap in the offense.

“With the guys we have now, I really don’t think we’re gonna skip a beat,” Hausmann said. “We have the O-line to do it, we have the running backs to do it. We have two or three really talented running backs back there that can share the role, they can split the load.”