Ohio State freshman Bo Jackson loses black stripe
COLUMBUS – The buzz surrounding Ohio State freshman running back Bo Jackson continues to get louder.
Jackson lost his black stripe after practice on Thursday which means he is officially a Buckeye and, most importantly, a member of Lock Boyz. The unofficial name of the Ohio State running backs room under coach Carlos Locklyn.
Jackson is the fifth Ohio State freshman to lose the black stripe from the 2025 recruiting class. He joins wide receiver Quincy Porter, linebacker Riley Pettijohn, tight end Nate Roberts and cornerback Devin Sanchez. Porter lost his during spring practice, while Pettijohn, Roberts and Sanchez shed theirs during the first week of training camp.
The former four-star prospect out of Cleveland (Ohio) Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s joined the Buckeyes last January. He had a productive spring and has only continued to improve since putting the pads on in training camp.
READ: Ohio State names buzzing after first scrimmage of training camp
Matter of fact, Jackson was one of the standouts of the Buckeyes first full-contact scrimmage last Saturday. Lettermen Row’s Austin Ward wrote the following about Jackson after speaking with sources over the weekend:
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“The reviews were decidedly mixed for the Ohio State run-game as a whole on offense, which is probably not all that surprising given the talent assembled on the defense.
But in yet another full-contact scrimmage, Bo Jackson was turning more heads with a rushing style that blends speed, power and tenacity. When yards were tough to come by, the true freshman was able to chip away for the Buckeyes and is clearly pushing to expand the rotation beyond just the projected tandem of CJ Donaldson and James Peoples.
Jackson has appeared well ahead of the curve for a typical first-year tailback, and even dating back to the beginning of spring camp it’s been obvious that position coach Carlos Locklyn sees something special in him. It feels increasingly likely that Jackson is going to be able to carve out a role in some capacity sooner than might have been anticipated.”
Locklyn is afraid to play a freshmen and as a result, Jackson could find his way on to the field this season after shedding his black stripe.