Miyan Williams is coming back for a fourth season with the Buckeyes.
Following multiple social media posts hinting at his return, the Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday that the Buckeye running back confirmed his intentions to stay at Ohio State in 2023.
Williams posted an Instagram story including a picture of himself in the Peach Bowl with a song titled "Run This Back" on Wednesday night. Williams then tweeted out another Peach Bowl picture Thursday morning complete with the caption, "Unfinished business."
Unfinished business pic.twitter.com/pC36Re9vYT
— Chop (@Miyannnn3) January 5, 2023
Despite being limited by various injuries and ailments through the back half of his redshirt sophomore season, Williams' 825 rushing yards this season were 254 more than the next-best Buckeye. Williams also rushed for 14 touchdowns, eight more than any other player on the team, and finished the season with an average of 6.4 yards per carry – another team-high among Buckeyes with at least 20 attempts.
Williams had four 100-yard games this past season, including a 189-yard effort against Rutgers in which he tied Ohio State's single-game rushing touchdowns record with five against the Scarlet Knights. But by the next week, Williams began dealing with a string of injuries that held him back from an even better year.
The Cincinnati native missed Ohio State's matchups with Michigan State and Maryland entirely, left the Penn State game with injury after just two carries and was sidelined before the end of the first half against Indiana. Williams returned against Michigan but received only eight snaps for 34 yards in the contest.
Williams was expected to be at 100% for the College Football Playoff semifinal, but missed practice time with a stomach bug during game week and ended up only carrying the ball three times for eight yards. Williams told reporters after the loss that he was also still dealing with physical injuries beyond the stomach issue entering the game.
With Williams and TreVeyon Henderson, who had foot surgery following the end of the regular season, both injured for much of the year, true freshman Dallan Hayden and Arizona State transfer Chip Trayanum had to carry a bigger load than expected by season's end. But Williams' return is great news for a position room that should be among the deepest in the country if everyone returns healthy in 2023.
Henderson isn't draft-eligible until 2024, Hayden has only completed one season of college football, Evan Pryor is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from a preseason ACL tear according to position coach Tony Alford, and Trayanum will decide whether his future is at linebacker or running back in the near future.
