Trey Sermon is the J.K. Dobbins replacement Ohio State football sorely needed

After three years at Oklahoma, running back Trey Sermon will play his final college football season at Ohio State, effectively replacing J.K. Dobbins.

Trey Sermon is ditching crimson and cream for scarlet and grey.

After three years in Norman, Sermon transferred to Ohio State where he’ll play his final year with the Buckeyes, who needed him in a bad way.

Sermon entered the transfer portal last week after three seasons playing for Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma Sooners. Ohio State could not be happier to see a proven running back on the roster after NFL defections and injury crippled the position.

The Buckeyes’ situation was dire at running back. Master Teague III blew out his Achilles’ heel and his backup Marcus Crowley succumbed to injury which would have prevented him from participating in spring ball. Add in last year’s starter J.K. Dobbins entering the 2020 NFL Draft and the Buckeyes needed a feature back desperately.

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Sermon was one of the top targets of Ohio State when he was a four-star recruit in the 2017 class. Now they finally get their guy.

In three years at Oklahoma, Sermon had 339 carries for 2,076 yards and 22 rushing touchdowns in 37 games. He also had 36 catches for 391 yards and three trips to pay dirt out of the Oklahoma backfield. Though never a 1,000-yard rusher, Sermon was a big part of the Oklahoma offense that sent three different quarterbacks to the Heisman Trophy ceremony the last three seasons.

Even with Spencer Rattler taking over for Jalen Hurts this fall, Oklahoma will still be the favorite to win the Big 12 next year and possibly get back to the College Football Playoff. However, Sermon’s decreased workload as a junior in 2019 with only 54 carries in 10 games may have had something to do with him transferring.

By joining Ohio State, Sermon has a chance to make the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight year. Ohio State is favored to get to the National Championship Game with Heisman Trophy finalist Justin Fields entering his junior season at quarterback.

As for if he can replace Dobbins’ production, that might be a bit of a stretch. Dobbins topped 2,000 yards as a junior and rushed for over 1,000 yards all three years he was in Columbus. However, with the amount of carries Sermon will be getting in Ryan Day’s offense, it would be shocking to not see him blow past the 1,000-yard threshold in his final season.

Where the Buckeyes were once vulnerable, they have now made it a strength. With Fields as the star of this Ohio State offense, all Sermon has to do is play great complementary football next to him. Once Ohio State has a sizable lead, the Buckeyes are never going to give it up. Sermon is the perfect piece they needed to position themselves for a national championship run in 2020.

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