Quinshon Judkins arrived at Ohio State eight months ago, but his true arrival on the scene for the Buckeyes came on Saturday.
On a night when Ohio State got all the strides it was looking for in the running game, Judkins’ were the longest – in terms of yardage, that is. The Ole Miss transfer running back gobbled up 108 yards to lead all ballcarriers despite having what would have been the longest run of the evening called back, and he did so on just nine carries.
“You see the whole line play together as a whole, and I’m just in stride with the team as a whole and we came out and performed as a team,” Judkins said after the game. “Everybody came together.”
Judkins’ vision, physicality and burst running the football were a big part of why the Buckeyes collected 273 yards on the ground against Western Michigan in a 56-0 victory.
“You can see it,” Day said of Judkins. “Strong running, home run hitting ability. I thought he and (TreVeyon Henderson) both ran well today. We even had the one that got called back with Quinshon. I feel like we had a good mix in the game today. A lot of guys touched the ball. I thought Chip (Kelly) called a good game, a mix of run and pass.”
Judkins’ first game in the Scarlet and Gray didn’t go as swimmingly as his second, though some run-blocking lapses contributed to that fact. Judkins rushed for 55 yards on 13 carries, averaging just 4.2 yards per tote, though he did collect his first touchdown in Columbus.
Nothing changed in his weekly preparation after that outing, however. Clearly, it didn’t have to, as he averaged 12 yards per carry and scored twice more against the Broncos.
“(I had) the same routine that I have going into each and every week, but our preparation and the tools that our coaches give us as far as when we gameplan on these teams, looking at every team and the way we prepare (is) the same,” Judkins said.
It took two attempts for Judkins to start gashing the defensive front laid before him. As Ohio State led 14-0 in the first quarter, he took a shotgun toss to the right side, getting a pin-and-pull action from tight end Bennett Christian and right tackle Josh Fryar. Judkins found Fryar’s backside on a fantastic lead block, gave a subtle move to shake a linebacker and dashed 23 yards to the front-right corner of the end zone.
No Platinum Spin Move was necessary on this Quinshon Judkins touchdown run just speed. pic.twitter.com/oRQ7L3qk3V
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 8, 2024
A second 23-yard scoring jaunt came in the second quarter, and more great run blocking paved the way on an outside zone concept this time. Center Seth McLaughlin walled off his defensive tackle and stopped the flow of a backside linebacker as a kick out from left tackle Josh Simmons cleared a canyon-sized hole, and with left guard Austin Siereveld knocking his linebacker back a good 4 yards, Judkins’ elite acceleration took care of the rest.
Make it 2 touchdowns for Quinshon Judkins. pic.twitter.com/71h5qAakuO
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 8, 2024
There’s no denying the massive leap Ohio State’s run blocking took on Saturday. It also helps bolster confidence to have a backfield tandem the caliber of Judkins and Henderson toting the rock behind you.
“It does a lot when you know and you have faith in those guys,” McLaughlin said. “If I just block my guy really hard where I'm supposed to with the right targets, that they're going to make a play. Sometimes if you've got a guy back there that you're not 100% confident in, you're like, ‘OK, if I make this block, we may not get a good run.’ f you know as an offensive lineman, if you're making your blocks and everybody's on the same page, that there's going to be explosive runs, it makes it really easy to keep going hard.”
In turn, Judkins saw improvement from his front five from Week 1 to Week 2.
“Last week was the first game of the season,” Judkins said when asked about the offensive line. “When you go in, game plan on certain things, you look at the film, you come out and you see how you can get better for the next week. So, definitely happy as a whole. The whole team, we all played well, still things we can improve on, but overall, we played really good today.”
There was never much doubt about Judkins’ capabilities. He came to Columbus with two first-team All-SEC selections to his credit and 2,725 career rushing yards in just two seasons with the Rebels. It's why Ohio State pursued him with fervor in the transfer portal. But it’s always good verification to see it work with a new team in a new scheme.
Of course, Judkins’ most electric run didn’t count in the final box score. He made multiple men miss and went 80 yards to the house, only to have the play nullified by a holding penalty.
“That was a blast seeing him make some guys miss,” McLaughlin said. “Ran all the way down there and celebrated, turned around after running 100 yards and there's a little yellow flag on the ground. You've got to jog all the way back. But he did a really good job of making guys miss and making really good reads.”
It’s not just the big gashers that stand out when watching Judkins run the football, however. He’s able to pick up consistent chunks with great pad level and an ability to always keep his feet churning and fall forward. As McLaughlin puts it, “he’s hard to get on the ground.”
The first people to congratulate Judkins after his biggest runs were his fellow running backs, namely Henderson but also freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon. Each of the four picked up more than 5 yards per carry against the Broncos. Combined they racked up 265 yards and five touchdowns at a per-carry clip of 8.3 yards.
“We all believe in each other,” Judkins said. “We know everybody in the room is special. We know everyone in the room is talented. We get to see everyone in the room work hard each and every day and teach each other different things about our game that we think others can learn. It comes with experience, especially for the younger guys. But just the way that we mesh together and go out on the field and execute, I think, is pretty special.”
They’ll all get a chance to put up more gaudy statistics against Marshall in 12 days. But there’s no doubt that Judkins has arrived for Ohio State fans.
