Quinshon Judkins details player perspective of Carlos Locklyn hire

The Ohio State Buckeyes recently swiped away its new running back coach Carlos Locklyn from incoming Big Ten rival Oregon Ducks. The move helps fill a much-needed void for the Buckeyes while also hurting one of their league opponents who will challenge them for the conference throne in 2024.

Another new face on the Ohio State campus, running back Quinshon Judkins, recently stopped and talked about life in his new home in Columbus. The former Ole Miss Rebels backfield star also shed some light on Locklyn’s joining the Buckeyes program, revealing that head coach Ryan Day kept the running back room in the know when making the decision on who to hire.

“Throughout that whole process Coach Day kept us updated on what we were looking for as far as the room, asking us what we were looking for, and just telling us what he wanted for us in our room. And we’ve just been updated about it. And we’re here,” said Judkins.

Judkins and company are getting arguably one of the top up-and-coming running back coaches in college football in Locklyn. But the biggest takeaway from this story is how Day operates behind the scenes. While some head coaches would likely make the decision on their own with little input from their players, Day thought it best to keep his running backs up to speed. And it appears as if Judkins was a fan of that decision.

Ohio State to hire Oregon running backs coach Carlos Locklyn

According to Justin Hopkins of On3’s Scoop Duck, Oregon lost running backs coach Carlos Locklyn to Ohio State midway through the 2024 spring practices in early April. Locklyn is making the move inside of the new look Big Ten after coaching in Eugene for two seasons, a major move for Coach Day in the midst of spring practice.

This will be just the third on-field coaching role Locklyn will hold in his coaching career. Western Michigan gave him a shot before the 2021 season as the running back coach before Lanning hired him away from the Hilltoppers.

Ohio State took a huge blow at running backs coach itself, watching Tony Alford leave in favor of the much-hate Michigan Wolverines. Making a quick hire was almost required for the Buckeyes as spring ball is underway, and they are expected to have one of the best running back duos in the country.