Ohio State Buckeyes Battling Michigan for Alabama RB in Transfer Portal

The Ohio State Buckeyes are showing interest in a transfer running back from Alabama.

Oct 26, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Justice Haynes (22) carries the ball for a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers during the second half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. / Butch Dill-Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes have already been very active in the NCAA transfer portal rumors. With quite a few areas to improve, Ohio State is going to be very busy.

One position that Ryan Day will need to focus on is at running back.

Following the 2024 season, both Quinshon Judkins and TreyVeyon Henderson will make their way to the NFL Draft. That leaves a major hole in the backfield that needs to be filled.

With that being said, the Buckeyes are already showing major interest in an Alabama Crimson Tide running back who has entered the transfer portal.

According to On3 Sports' Pete Nakos, Ohio State is "significantly interested" in Haynes and that both the Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines are teams to watch for him.

Haynes would be a nice pickup for Ohio State. He has played his first two years at Alabama and has shown major flashes of potential in his limited playing time.

Throughout his first two college football seasons, Haynes has carried the football 104 times for 616 yards and nine touchdowns. Those numbers average out to a solid 5.9 yards per carry. He has also caught 17 passes for 99 yards.

Bringing Haynes in would help solidify the ground game to help out whoever ends up being the starting quarterback.

Also, beating out Michigan to land him would feel very good.

On the roster currently, the Buckeyes have James Peoples who projects to be the starter at this point in time. They also landed a commitment from Bo Jackson for 2025.

That being said, there is a real chance that Haynes could come in and push for immediate playing time. He would have to be interested in competing for the starting role at a school like Ohio State.

Expect to hear more about Haynes in the near future. At the very least, the Buckeyes are pursuing him and would like to land a commitment from him. However, the Wolverines are also in hot pursuit.