Buckeyes tailback Dallan Hayden reportedly plans to enter transfer portal
COLUMBUS — After two seasons at Ohio State, Dallan Hayden is reportedly in the process of finding his next stop.
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, and first reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, Hayden intends to enter the transfer portal when it opens next week. He’s the first spring portal departure from the Buckeyes.
Hayden, a Memphis, Tennessee native and graduate of Christian Brothers High School, will have three years of eligibility remaining at his next stop, wherever that ends up being.
Ohio State hired now-former Oregon coach Carlos Locklyn last week, and it appeared his connection to Hayden could keep Hayden around as part of the special tailback room. Locklyn coached high school football in the Memphis area from 2009-16, and, in his playing days, starred at Chattanooga.
Hayden said he’s known Locklyn “for a minute” and had talked to him a few times well before Ohio State began a search for a new running backs coach following Tony Alford’s departure for Michigan.
“He’s a really good ball coach, a really good guy,” Hayden said.
Hayden, Quinshon Judkins and the other Buckeyes running backs were involved in the hiring process that ended up with Locklyn at Ohio State, as head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State staff identified candidates and interviewed at least seven of them.
“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,” Judkins explained.
Hayden said he and his fellow tailbacks were notified of who was being brought in to interview, and they gave Day feedback on each of the candidates.
“As a whole, we felt like he would be the best guy,” Hayden said of Locklyn.
But now just a week after Locklyn was hired at Ohio State, Hayden is set to leave the Buckeyes program.
He finishes his Ohio State career with 130 carries for 663 yards and six touchdowns. His best moment came during his freshman season, when he had 27 carries for 146 yards and three touchdown runs to power the Buckeyes over upset-minded Maryland. Hayden had two career 100-yard games for the Buckeyes, both coming during his freshman campaign. He redshirted last season and was slated to be the third tailback in the room behind Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson this fall.
Now he’ll move on to a new destination to finish his college football. His Ohio State career is reportedly coming to a close as he is set to enter the transfer portal.
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