Tony Alford is satisfied with where his running back room is at.
The Ohio State position coach feels he has “three really good players" in his room, three "really dynamic players” that are all different in their own ways.
“They can all pose different problems for defenses,” Alford said. “They can all present different skill sets for our offense.”
Miyan Williams is also satisfied with where he’s at in Ohio State’s running back room.
The redshirt sophomore running back said he spent his second spring with the Buckeyes in the weight room, getting stronger and faster. He spent his second spring in his playbook, learning the offense more, hoping to be able to take the field in the fall and play without thinking.
More than anything, though, Williams just wants to continue the momentum from 2022.
“We just got to just basically pick up where we left off,” Williams said. “That’s what we got to do, just keep doing, keep the ball rolling.”
Williams doesn’t seem worried about what his role will be in Ohio State’s run game.
With the emergence of freshman TreVeyon Henderson in 2021, taking control of that top spot on the depth chart and turning it into 1,560 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns, Williams took a bit of a back seat, splitting second-team reps with Master Teague III and finishing his second season with 508 yards on 71 carries and three touchdowns.
As he prepares for the 2022 season, Williams made it clear that he wants to see everyone in the room get a chance to show what they can do. And when it’s his turn, Williams knows he will be ready.
“You just gotta stay ready. When your number's called, you gotta stay ready. You gotta stay ready because one person come out, the person who comes in, just keep the ball rolling,” Williams said. “Like don’t miss a beat.”
When it was hit turn a year ago, Williams didn't miss a beat.
He averaged 7.1 yards per touch, the best in the Big Ten and exceeding the average of Texas A&M sophomore Devon Achane, Wisconsin freshman Braelon Allen and even Henderson, who led the country in the category, each recording more than 130 carries.
Williams also led the conference with 0.44 forced missed tackles per attempt, per Pro Football Focus, something Alford feels just represents the redshirt sophomore’s running style, something that may not be noticed on the practice field.
“Miyan’s going to kind of run through you,” Alford said. “But he’s hard to get on the ground. And I think when you watch in the setting, running backs in the setting where they’re not tackling, when it’s tag off and all those things… where you come watch a practice and it’s like, ‘Well, the guy tagged him off.’ Well yeah, but you still have to get him on the ground.”
Williams showed that off in the spring game, leading the team with 15 carries for 101 yards — 6.7 yards per carry, bouncing off and dragging defenders with him, but using his lateral quickness to make opponents miss in the backfield, but specializing in that downhill, physical running style that makes him stand out from other members of the Buckeyes' room.
Williams, the self-described bruiser, knows Ohio State’s success doesn’t come down to him.
He looks at Evan Pryor as a speed option in the Buckeyes’ room, placing Henderson in between as a sort of bruiser with speed. To Williams, it’s a room that forces opposing defenses to “pick your poison.”
It wasn’t a situation Williams was going to leave either. Alford and Williams, the Ohio State running backs coach said, have an extremely close relationship, knowing that the redshirt sophomore will get his share of touches on the field.
Williams knows what his role is. And when it’s his turn to take the field, he just plans to build off whatever running back he’s replacing behind the quarterback.
“I know we’ve got a real talented room,” he said. “So it’d be nice for everybody just to have a shot.”
