Chip Kelly brought decades of experience as a coach at the highest level of college football when he was Ohio State‘s next offensive coordinator. According to some of the Buckeyes’ brightest offensive stars, his style is already rubbing off on them.
After spending almost the entire offseason in Kelly’s system, Quinshon Judkins has been soaking up as much knowledge as possible from Kelly and his other coaches ahead of the 2024 regular season.
“I think all of our coaches have put us in the best position to be successful on the field. Chip Kelly knows the offensive strategies he’s used in the past. I know how he can accomplish different things by using not just one running back, but two,” Judkins said Wednesday.
Judkins and Kelly’s paths cross in Columbus after Kelly spent the last six seasons as head coach at University of CaliforniaThere he achieved an overall record of 35-34 and a 26-24 record in Pac-12 play at Brentwood. He also has experience as a head coach at Oregonwhere he had a record of 46-7 over four years, and 28-35 in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers.
For the Junior Tailback he came to Ohio State from Ole Miss from the transfer portal. In two seasons with the Rebels, Judkins accumulated 2,725 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns – the most of any running back in the nation during that time period.
Judkins ran for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman in 2022. He finished the season with the second-best yardage by a freshman in SEC history, behind only Herschel Walker1,549 meters at Georgia in 1980.
For the people of Columbus and the fans who are excited about the upcoming season, it is an exciting prospect to see what Kelly can accomplish with his talent.
Co-running back TreVeyon Henderson also spoke about what Kelly brings to the running back room, praising Kelly’s impact on him and their offense during a media briefing on Wednesday. He himself said Kelly has shown him a whole new way of looking at the game. Both tailbacks expect that impact to be seen on the field every Saturday this fall.
The Buckeyes will open the season on August 31 at Ohio Stadium against Akron before starting their Big Ten game against State of MichiganEncounters against Oregon, Nebraska, Penn Stateand of course Michigan are also circled on the agenda.
