CJ Donaldson entered the transfer portal in December with his sights set on maximizing himself in his final season of college football.
Knowing how tough it is to make it into the NFL, Donaldson wanted to give himself the best possible opportunity to improve during his senior year.
“You got to think about your family, you and what do you want to get out of this? This is my last guaranteed opportunity to have a chance to play football, because the next level is not promised. You have to earn that, so I just took a chance on myself,” Donaldson said of his decision to enter the transfer portal.
Upon entering the portal, the former West Virginia running back went through a process he likened to speed dating as he heard recruiting pitches from coaches all over the country. But Ohio State’s pitch was the one that stood out because of how OSU running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, head coach Ryan Day and director of sports performance Mickey Marotti sold him on their ability to help Donaldson reach his potential.
“There's a lot of calls, a lot of red carpet talk, but what separated the Buckeyes from every other program was I like to say Coach Lock,” Donaldson said. “And Coach Day and Coach Mick had a big impact on me, but Coach Lock, he told me that he would challenge me and help me develop into the player that I know I can be.”
Donaldson had a productive three years at West Virginia, but perhaps not the kind of production needed to become an NFL draft pick. While he ran for 2,058 yards and 30 touchdowns in three seasons as a Mountaineer, his numbers dropped slightly from 2023 to 2024 as he went from 4.7 yards per carry and 66.5 yards per game as a sophomore to 4.5 yards per carry and 56.5 yards per game as a junior.
Donaldson hasn’t yet reached 800 rushing yards in a single season at the collegiate level. But there’s reason to believe Donaldson could take his game to new heights in 2025.
For one, Donaldson joins one of the nation’s most talented offenses at Ohio State. While teams often loaded the box against him at West Virginia, defenses who do that against OSU this year will risk getting burned by Ohio State’s elite cadre of receiving weapons such as Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Max Klare and Brandon Inniss. That could open up more lanes for Donaldson to have a chance to make big plays when the Buckeyes run the ball.
Donaldson said the balance of Ohio State’s offense was appealing to him in choosing a transfer destination.
“We are more balanced, more like the NFL,” Donaldson said. “We utilize our players effectively and use them to the best of our abilities.”
Another change that could lead to more long runs for Donaldson is his physical transformation this spring. While Donaldson’s muscular build still stands out among Ohio State’s running backs at practice, he’s lost 18 pounds since enrolling at OSU in January, trimming down from 244 pounds to 226 at the behest of Marotti.
“I was 243, I think, the day I got here, and Coach Mick said, ‘That's going to change quickly,’” Donaldson recalled with a laugh. “Coach Lock wanted me to get down to a size where I could still use my physical attributes very well and also be more explosive in the run game and play more downs than I did at my previous university.”
Donaldson says he feels much faster now that he’s practicing at a lighter weight.
“I feel like I'm running like the Flash right now,” Donaldson said. “I definitely feel quicker and more explosive.”
While Ohio State wanted Donaldson to lose some weight, it still wants Donaldson to be a power back. His size is one trait that makes him unique compared to 210-pound sophomore James Peoples, the running back he’s expected to split carries with in Ohio State’s backfield this season, and Locklyn wants his running backs to have different strengths that complement each other.
That said, Locklyn believes there’s a lot more to Donaldson’s game than just being big and strong.
“I look at him as a slasher,” Locklyn said. “He has good enough speed, great hands, but he's a slasher, a big guy. Big guys often win with the little guys, so he's gonna fall forward. But I look at him as a slasher with power. Got really good feet for a big guy. Really good hands and good vision. So (the weight loss is) gonna help him a little bit with probably his longer speed, but he is good.”
Donaldson played wide receiver in high school and started his career at West Virginia as a tight end before moving to running back, so Locklyn believes Donaldson can be a weapon in the passing game as well even though he had just 32 catches for 190 yards and one touchdown at WVU.
“He'll be able to do a lot of things,” Locklyn said. “A big body guy that can catch the ball. He can run between the tackles. His feet are quicker than what you'd think for a big guy. He's got really good feet and good balance, so that's what makes him good.”
“I feel like I'm running like the Flash right now.”– CJ Donaldson on how he feels after losing 18 pounds this winter
When watching Quinshon Judkins’ film from Ohio State last season, Donaldson said he could see the difference Locklyn made on Judkins after his transfer from Ole Miss to help him become a more complete running back and set himself up to be a top pick in this year’s NFL draft. Now that he’s part of the new tandem that will replace Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson at running back, Donaldson hopes to emulate Judkins’ success as a transfer running back at Ohio State.
He’s brimming with confidence in his ability to do so because of the difference Ohio State has already made on him in just two months.
“It’s been off the charts,” Donaldson said. “They’ve developed me like from day one, like since the day I stepped on campus. The workouts, my eating habits, where I need to get to in my body weight, what I need to improve on to develop into an NFL running back and have an opportunity to get to that level. And just them investing into me as much as possible, like day in and day out, they invest a lot.”
