Marcus Crowley’s playing career at Ohio State has ended.
After suffering another serious injury, Crowley will be unable to return to the field for the Buckeyes and is medically retiring from football, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced on Friday.
“He has a long-term injury there,” Day said. “He just really wants to finish his degree and still be a part of the program, which he will. But he suffered a significant injury.”
As a true freshman in 2019, Crowley tore his ACL in the fourth quarter of a blowout win over Maryland, and that injury also sidelined Crowley out for most of the 2020 season. Crowley then suffered another knee injury during Ohio State’s bye week last October.
A four-star recruit in the class of 2019, Crowley flashed playmaking ability when he was able to play for the Buckeyes. Over the course of three seasons, Crowley rushed for 354 yards and a touchdown on just 51 attempts and added three catches for 32 yards and another touchdown.
Unfortunately for Crowley, the injury bug kept him from ever getting on the field consistently, and it will now prevent him from playing for the Buckeyes again even though he still has three remaining seasons of eligibility.
Crowley’s medical retirement leaves the Buckeyes with four scholarship running backs for the 2022 season: TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams, Evan Pryor and Dallan Hayden. The Buckeyes also now have one open scholarship for the 2022 season, as Crowley will no longer count against the 85-man limit, though Ryan Day said Friday the Buckeyes are not planning to pursue any more roster additions this year.
