J.K. Dobbins enters Heisman conversation by outshining Jonathan Taylor

Ohio State is loaded with Heisman candidates and J.K. Dobbins just added his name to the list.

Ohio State has three Heisman Trophy candidates after the Buckeyes’ dominated Wisconsin in Ohio Stadium on a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon from The Shoe.

Justin Fields was already in the Heisman conversation with his dual-threat ability lighting up the scoreboard and stuffing the box score.

And Chase Young is the best player in college football and the potential No. 1 pick if it doesn’t go to a team needing a quarterback, which it almost assuredly will, but still, he’s a boss. Defenders almost never get any sort of Heisman recognition outside of a rare finalist appearance every decade or so. And then, there’s running back J.K. Dobbins who really makes the Buckeye offense click who is the latest Ohio State star to enter the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Entering Saturday’s showdown with Wisconsin, it was Jonathan Taylor who was the bigger Heisman candidate, but after the game, Taylor’s case is dead and Dobbins’ case is just heating up. He’s also got the endorsement from former Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Dobbins ran for 163 yards on 20 carries, two of which went for touchdowns. He also had three receptions for 58 yards. Meanwhile, Taylor was limited to 52 yards on 20 carries, good for a 2.6 yards per carry average. He was often limited to two yards or less on the bulk of his carries.

As great as Fields is and as valuable as he is to the team’s success, it’s Dobbins who makes the offense go to the next level. His ability to beat up on defenses and control the clock in the second halves of games is essential to the Buckeyes game plan.

Wear out teams with their combination of speed and power and let the defense go eat is what Ryan Day has been all about in his first year as the Ohio State head coach and having a resurgent year from Dobbins is why they’re in a position to be in the College Football Playoff.

The Heisman has morphed into a quarterback award, and quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts and Fields are still in the conversation, but it’s time to make room for Dobbins who is playing like the best running back in the nation.

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