Ohio State running back Bo Jackson surpasses Auburn and NFL icon’s freshman rushing mark originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The idea sounds impossible at first. Could Ohio State really have the better Bo Jackson? The name began as a family nickname and the comparison began as a joke, something fans tossed around because it felt harmless and absurd. But the freshman numbers are no longer cooperating with the punchline. They are telling a different story and forcing everyone to reconsider what seemed like a throwaway thought.
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It starts with the name. Bo Jackson, whose real name is Lamar Jackson, never asked to carry around the weight of one of the most iconic two sport legends in American history. His father gave him the nickname when he was young. It stuck because it fit. Before he became a four star prospect. Before he arrived at Ohio State listed at six feet and 217 pounds with a 92 grade from 247Sports. It was just a father giving his son a name that sounded right.
Ohio State fans embraced it instantly. College football fans laughed and bookmarked it for later. And then the games started.
Jackson entered the Rutgers matchup with 725 rushing yards. That number mattered because it placed him exactly 104 yards behind the freshman total that Auburn’s Bo Jackson posted in 1982.
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By the time the two teams reached the final quarter, the joke had been replaced by evidence. Jackson entered the fourth quarter already in full control of the storyline. Through three quarters he had piled up 19 carries for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry with a long run of 15. By then he had already moved past the Auburn Bo’s freshman total.
And that might not be the end of it. Depending on how far Ohio State advances in the postseason, Jackson has a path toward the biggest surprise of all. J.K. Dobbins set the Ohio State freshman rushing record with 1,403 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2017, breaking Maurice Clarett’s mark and earning Freshman All American honors along the way. That record has felt untouchable for almost a decade. It is the standard every freshman Buckeye back is measured against.
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Jackson is nowhere near that number yet, but he is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He is getting stronger as the weather gets colder. He is earning more touches each week in an offense that keeps leaning on him in the fourth quarter. If Ohio State reaches the Big Ten Championship and then lands a two game playoff run, the opportunity will be there. It would take big performances and it would take a stretch of meaningful football into January, but the math is alive.
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Ohio State did not just find another young back with upside. They found one whose freshman season is now outpacing the freshman season posted by the player whose name he shares. The comparison began as a joke. His father made it possible by giving him that nickname. His play made it real.
Somewhere in Auburn someone will point out that legacy still matters. And they are right. No one replicates the original Bo Jackson. But the question at hand is much smaller and much more entertaining. Who had the better introduction to college football?
Right now the answer is wearing scarlet and gray.
