Dallan Hayden sheds black stripe, adds depth in Buckeyes thin tailback room
COLUMBUS — Dallan Hayden has been working to pick up the Ohio State playbook and get to full speed.
That work has been showing on the practice field, and Hayden earned a mark that shows he is officially a member of the football program because of it.
Hayden shed his black stripe Saturday, a crucial sign that he’ll be able to help out in the thin Buckeyes running back rotation that is now down one of its four scholarship backs, Evan Pryor, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
For Hayden, he is picking up steam in practice. Only problem? He’s going a bit too fast.
“He goes full speed, that’s one thing,” Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford said earlier this preseason. “We’re not going to have to ask him to go faster.
“He goes 100 miles per hour; sometimes we have to try to pull the reins on him and back him down a little bit and slow him down. That’s probably the thing that’s impressed me the most. He goes full speed. He only knows one speed.”
Dallan Hayden is going fast for the Buckeyes, so fast that he shed his black stripe. And he might even be able to become a factor in the running back rotation for Ohio State.
Dallan Hayden joins six other Buckeyes freshmen to shed black stripe
Kyion Grayes lost his black stripe Saturday, a mark signaling that he is officially a member of the football program for the Buckeyes. He joined receiver Kaleb Brown, cornerback Jyaire Brown and linebacker C.J. Hicks as the freshmen who have shed their stripe during camp.
Kaleb Brown lost his black stripe last week, a mark signaling that he is officially a member of the football program for the Buckeyes. He joined cornerback Jyaire Brown and C.J. Hicks as the freshmen who have shed their stripe during camp.
Ohio State freshman cornerback Jyaire Brown is in the early days of his first training camp with the Buckeyes. But it is clear that he is already making a push for a role. Brown became the first freshman to lose his black stripe during the month of training camp, shedding the stripe that signifies an official place with the Buckeyes, early in camp.
C.J. Hicks became the second Buckeyes freshman of camp to lose his black stripe earlier this month. Hicks is pushing to be a part of the Buckeyes linebacker rotation. With his elite size and speed, he can make it happen. The opportunities will be there against some nonconference opponents to help him prove he belongs on the field this fall.
