OSU's Jackson will get more opportunities

OSU's Jackson will get more opportunities By Jim Naveau jnaveau@limanews.com It's not just fans who are talking about Ohio State freshman running back Bo Jackson. OSU's coaches are also paying attention to him after back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in his second and third college football games the last two weeks. "We were just talking about that as an offensive staff. It doesn't take a veteran coach to recognize talent when you see it and Bo has talent," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. Jackson leads Ohio State's running backs with 217 yards rushing on 18 carries. He has had runs of 64 yards and 51 yards and is averaging 12.1 yards per carry. Jackson rushed for 108 yards against Grambling and 109 yards against Ohio. West Virginia transfer C.J. Donaldson (33 carries, 151 yards) and sophomore James Peoples (25 carries, 126 yards) have gotten the majority of the carries in the first three games for No. 1 OSU (3-0) but Jackson will continue to get the ball when the Buckeyes start the Big Ten portion of their schedule at Washington on Sept. 27. "We're going to keep bringing him along. It's a long season. We're going to continue to give him opportunities to prove that we can trust him with the ball in his hands. So far he's done that. You can see his vision, his ability to catch the ball. He has a lot of different skills. We're going to keep bringing him along and the more he can take the more we're going to keep giving to him," Day said. "Like any other position there is a way you bring guys along. The No. 1 thing is ball security – taking care of the football – and then there is pass protection and all those things. He has checked these boxes. He's been doing a nice job. "We're going to need everybody in that (running backs) room. I think they're all unique, which is a little bit different. It's our job to put them in a position to be successful. But he's going to get plenty of carries this season." A few other thoughts from Day in a 15-minute session behind the microphone instead of his usual 30 minutes: … BYE WEEK GOOD OR BAD: Ohio State gets the first of two bye weeks on its schedule this Saturday. Asked if that break was coming at a good time, Day said, "I don't know when is a good time or a bad time. We'll practice today (Tuesday), tomorrow and Thursday and take Friday and Saturday off and then come back on Sunday and have our practice and have a normal game week. "We're going to work hard on fundamentals and the areas we need to get better at. We know the next four games are going to be a challenge. Three of the next four will be conference road games." … MALONE IMPRESSES: Senior defensive tackle Tywone Malone started last Saturday instead of sophomore Eddrick Houston. "I thought Tywone took a step in the game. He played well," Day said. "He still has some things that Coach Johnson (defensive line coach Larry Johnson) is working on him to get better but he did some nice things in the game. That's big. We need that position to continue to build depth and continue to play at a high level." INJURY REPORT: Tight end Bennett Christian, who missed last Saturday's game against Ohio because of an injury, will return to practice this week and be ready to play at Washington. "He should have a full week of practice this week and be ready to have a full game week next week," Day said.