Ohio State Football: JK Dobbins proved himself as nation’s best RB in 2019

JK Dobbins ended his 2019 season with Ohio State football as one of the best running backs in the country — and some would argue he’s the best.

For the 10th time on the season, JK Dobbins reached 100 yards rushing, and this time he did so against the toughest opponent he’s seen all season: Clemson.

Not only did Dobbins reach 100 yards, he hit 174 with a touchdown on just 18 carries and he also caught six passes for 47 yards, putting him over 200 total yards on the day. Against a tough defense like Clemson’s, that’s more than impressive.

But this wasn’t the first time he took it to a top defense.

In fact, he rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, 211 yards and four touchdowns at Michigan, 157 yards and two touchdowns against Penn State, 163 yards and two touchdowns in the first matchup with Wisconsin and 172 yards and a touchdown against Michigan State.

Dobbins rushed for less than 100 yards just four times this season and it happened to be against far inferior foes such as FAU, Miami (OH), Maryland and Rutgers. Moreover, he rushed for less than 89 yards just one time in 2019.

Coming into this season, there was uncertainty around the junior running back. He spent his first two seasons splitting carries with Mike Weber but he decided to make the jump to the NFL this past offseason and that left Dobbins in the lead role. For the first time as a Buckeye, he was the clear lead back. How would that work out?

Clearly it was the most beneficial thing for the talented back as well as Ohio State. The Buckeyes’ run game absolutely took off. He had more rushing yards in 2019 than 63 FBS teams — that’s unreal.

With the loss to Clemson, Dobbins’ incredible season, and likely his Ohio State career, is over. And at the conclusion of the 2019 season, he finishes as the nation’s second-leading rusher.

However, he looked like the best — no disrespect to Chuba Hubbard.

Dobbins finished with 2,003 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns and he averaged 6.7 yards per carry. He showcased the perfect combination of speed and strength, blowing by defenders and running through them. You wouldn’t think a 5-10, 215-pound running back would have the type of breakaway speed Dobbins has, but he’s not your typical back.

When Dobbins does reach the NFL, he’s going to have a number of teams looking for his exact skill level. Is he the next Ezekiel Elliott? Maybe, maybe not, but he’s going to leave college football as the best at his position.