Bo Jackson is making noise in Ohio State’s fall camp, and one former Buckeye says the sophomore back is showing real growth where it matters most.
With 17 days left before kickoff, Jackson’s profile is rising after a true freshman season that finished with 1,000 yards and earned him a spot on the Doak Walker Award watch list Tuesday. Bobby Carpenter, the former Ohio State linebacker, said on a recent episode of BIGPLAY Sports Network's The Bobby Carpenter Show that Jackson has flashed a noticeable step forward in scrimmage work.
“Watching Bo put on a move at the second level and then burst and go get like 60 yards," Carpenter said of what he saw.
Carpenter’s biggest takeaway lines up with what Ryan Day has been saying about Jackson’s development. The Ohio State coach pointed to sharper reads and more decisive work once Jackson gets through the first wave.
"His reads and the way he's hitting the hole have really shown up," Day told reporters about Jackson. "But I think he's doing a much better job at the second level.
You're running over him. You're running around him, making him miss.
You're seeing that. It's showing up on film.
It did not show up on film last year."
Day said that improvement has been a clear emphasis in camp, and he likes how Jackson has handled it so far.
"If he continues to keep building and practicing and stacking these practices the way he's doing it, it's gonna show up in a game," Day said. "And that's going to be a big part of who we are this year. So, a big point of emphasis [in the second level] so far, he has been responding to."
Carpenter echoed that same idea, stressing that Jackson has to keep creating extra yardage after the initial block.
"It was that second level [for Jackson]," Carpenter said. "Make a guy miss.
Run a guy over. If it's blocked for five [yards], you gotta get eight.
You can't be getting five. Like, we [Ohio State] need to be able to [do that].
You're an Ohio State running back. You should be able to make two to three yards on your own by making a guy miss at the end of the play, or like you [Steele Chambers] said, just running them over."
Jackson could also be part of a backfield split with Isaiah West, which would help manage his workload if Ohio State leans into a pass-heavy offense with quarterback Julian Sayin.
Even with that setup in mind, Jackson appears to be trending in the right direction after a strong first season in Columbus.
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