Heading into the 2020 offseason, the Buckeyes were prepared to replace Heisman-caliber running back J.K. Dobbins with Master Teague, who rushed for 789 yards as a backup in 2019.
However, when Teague went down with an Achilles injury on the first day of spring practice, running backs coach Tony Alford and head coach Ryan Day were quickly faced with a very thin RB group. The “next-in-line” Marcus Crowley was still recovering from a season-ending knee injury from 2019 and Demario McCall and Steele Chambers were inexperienced as far as reps at RB.