Ohio Running Back Sam Williams-Dixon Commits to Ohio State

Ohio State landed its second running back commitment of the 2024 class on Saturday, as three-star Ohio running back Sam Williams-Dixon gave his verbal commitment to OSU.

#COMMITTED Excited to be apart of The of Brother Hood @pnfootball @CoachTonyAlford @AllenTrieu @JohnGarcia_Jr @OhioStateFB @247Sports @Birm @BuckeyesNow_FN @SBLiveSports @BarstoolOSU @ryandaytime @MickWalker247 @ChadSimmons_ @Bill_Kurelic @CoachRLarkin @Ryan9Mayhew @N_Murph pic.twitter.com/Pk7LKVgrX7

— Sam Williams-Dixon (@SamuelDixon24) April 15, 2023

It was the second commitment of the day, with four-star tight end Max LeBlanc also joining OSU's 2024 class.

Williams-Dixon grew up rooting for the Buckeyes and made various trips to OSU last year, making a trip to Columbus in December to visit for a bowl practice, and also attending the Buckeyes’ season opener against Notre Dame in September. A month after his bowl practice visit, Williams-Dixon picked up his OSU offer on Jan. 11, visited Columbus for a spring practice March 7 and didn't waste much time in becoming a Buckeye. 

“It was like a dream come true,” Williams-Dixon told Eleven Warriors of his offer in January. “Just being a kid from Ohio, that offer meant a lot to me and meant a lot to my family. Buckeye Nation and people that live in Ohio just love the team, and I love it too. So it meant a lot. Any kid from Ohio dreams of playing for the Buckeyes.”

One of the main reasons OSU won the battle for Williams-Dixon's recruitment was the bond he and Alford formed. Williams-Dixon has said his relationship with a school's coaching staff was a top factor in his recruitment.

“I know a lot of people have been like telling me ‘Don't go to college for a coach,’ but like, that's what drives you there,” Williams-Dixon said. “Not just the college, the college is going to be there. But like that coach, the coaches there, the coaching staff, the players are going to drive you to that college. So the relationship, I'm trying to say, that's what is going to drive me to that place.”

Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Williams-Dixon is considered the 677th-best prospect and 79th-ranked athlete in the 2024 cycle. He becomes the 12th total commit in OSU's 2024 cycle and the 10th offensive player. He's the fifth in-state prospect to give his commitment to the Buckeyes, joining Garrett Stover, Marc Nave and Devontae and Deontae Armstrong.

Williams-Dixon is the latest running back to join the Buckeyes' 2024 recruiting class, as they now have a dynamic one-two punch with him and James Peoples in the fold. But there still could be another running back added before the Early Signing Period, as Williams-Dixon provides such a flexible skillset similar to Xavier Johnson he may not be limited to just running back. Other potential running back targets include Jordan Lyle, DeJuan Williams and others. 

Williams-Dixon picked Ohio State over the likes of Akron, Ball State, Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Tennessee, Toledo and West Virginia. 

Williams-Dixon brings a versatile skillset to OSU

Williams-Dixon has certainly produced gaudy on-field statistics in his prep career. 

In Williams-Dixon’s junior season at West Holmes, he ran for nearly 1,300 rushing yards and scored 41 touchdowns while adding 500 receiving yards. As a sophomore, Williams-Dixon scored 35 touchdowns. He'll play for Pickerington North in his senior season.

“I’m very versatile,” Williams-Dixon said. “I can do anything, like I can be split out wide, in the slot or running back. I can definitely play a little quarterback, like a little Wildcat. So, I can be everywhere on offense. I think I’m a very evasive runner. Like a Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley-type playstyle I guess.”

In his time at West Holmes, Williams-Dixon was deployed all over the field, even split out wide when the team was short on depth due to injury. Playing wideout only turned him into a better pass-catcher, which OSU can use in the screen game and other ways offensively.

“His sophomore year, due to injuries, we had to flank him out of receiver a lot,” West Holmes coach and Williams-Dixon's former coach Zach Gardner told Eleven Warriors in January. “And he went out and had 1,000 yards receiving for us as a sophomore. He runs it all, he'll run our shallow routes, he runs our intermediate routes, and then he can go deep as well. He’s phenomenal at catching the football out of the backfield. Anytime you can pressure a defense horizontally as well as vertically, he obviously has the talent to do that and make a lot of plays after he does.”

Williams-Dixon will likely have to wait a few years before seeing the field, but should have plenty of time to develop as a player while in Columbus. His speed, versatility and eagerness to help a team in any way necessary could lead to a special teams role for Williams-Dixon as a way to playing time in his first few seasons.