For the third time in just over a year, Ohio State has added a transfer to bolster what had been a thin area on its offensive depth chart.
Running back Trey Sermon, who racked up more than 2,000 rushing yards in three seasons at Oklahoma, just announced that he will transfer to Ohio State for the 2020 season.
— Trey Sermon (@treyera) March 22, 2020
Sermon is 6 feet tall and listed at 216 lbs. He rushed for 744 yards at 6.1 yards per carry as a freshman in 2017.
His best season with the Sooners came in 2018 when he finished with 947 yards (5.8 YPC) and 13 touchdowns.
Sermon suffered a serious left knee injury in early November of his junior season and missed the rest of the year. He finished 2019 with just 385 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.
He now provides another possible answer to a running back room that was dealing with a lot of questions.
The departure of JK Dobbins for the NFL already left a major hole, and injuries suffered by returning reserves Master Teague and Marcus Crowley left things pretty thin.
Demario McCall was moved back to the running back position from wide receiver after Teague’s injury, joining redshirt freshman Steele Chambers. True freshman Miyan Williams will arrive this summer.
But Sermon gives the Buckeyes another proven option at a position of need.
It’s somewhat similar to the addition of Rutgers transfer Jonah Jackson in 2019, which helped shore up what had been a shaky offensive line.
Of course, the most high-profile transfer addition recently was quarterback Justin Fields, who arrived in January 2019 and finished the year as a Heisman finalist.
Sermon and the Buckeyes seemed like an almost perfect fit as soon as his name hit the transfer portal.
He visited Ohio State multiple times when he was a high school recruit, and was already familiar with both the Buckeyes’ program and running backs coach Tony Alford.
Plus, it was a chance for OSU to add a proven veteran who has played at the highest levels of the sport.
For Sermon, it’s an opportunity to potentially win the starting job for one of the only programs that has been more successful than the Sooners during the Playoff era.
It’s hard to imagine a better fit.
Now three of our RB’s are recovering from injuries. We won’t really know how they if they are ready to go until the end of pre-season practice.
It’s hard to keep track of the Buckeye comings and goings! D.J. Carton – Going. Seth Towns – Coming. Alonzo (We Hardly Knew Ye) Gaffney – Going. Trey Sermon – Coming.
In a time when the whole country doesn’t really know whether it’s coming or going, this makes perfect sense!
Anyway, welcome to Towns and Sermon! May your Buckeye careers, however long, be stellar!
For Carton and Gaffney, best wishes on your future pursuits.
And to all – stay home, don’t touch anything, and stay well!
This is good news and gives us some needed insurance. Let’s hope the injury bug is over and all our talented RB’s get a chance to win the starting job.
We may hate the transfer portal, but it has worked out for the buckeyes over the last year with Justin Fields, Jonah Jackson, Seth Towns for the basketball team, and now Trey Sermon.
Is Trey Sermon coming in as a Graduated Transfer or will he have to get the waiver from the NCAA?
Yep. Graduate transfer.
Thanks Tony. I must have missed that part in the article.
I love the coverage that The Ozone gives us Buckeye Fans. I have followed The Ozone since late 1996. It is the first page I go to for Ohio State sports content!
Really great news, closest thing to filling JKDs shoes.
May the portal be ever in our favor.
I preached the importance of this addition.
All hail the Portal!