It’s been a long and winding road for the Ohio State Buckeyes to get to this point, but on Saturday, running back coach Tony Alford finally got his RB for the 2020 recruiting class as Cincinnati’s Miyan Williams flipped his commitment from Iowa State to Ohio State.
— Miyan Williams (@Miyann28) November 23, 2019
The Winton Woods High School star was in Columbus visiting campus for the Penn State game and confirmed his new commitment — as many expected — on Saturday night. Williams is a three-star recruit and is rated as the 18th best player in the state of Ohio in the 2020 cycle, and the 43rd running back nationally.
At 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, Williams is a powerful runner. As a junior, he ran for 2,842 yards and 38 touchdowns, and he is the Ohio high school career rushing leader with 5,780 yards.
In addition to the Cyclones and Buckeyes, he also held offers from Cincinnati, Michigan, Maryland, Purdue, Minnesota, and others.
Williams becomes the 25th commit in the class that currently ranks as the top in the Big Ten Conference and fourth nationally. Earlier in the cycle, Ohio State seemed poised to land both five-star RB Bijan Robinson and four-star Jaylen Knighton before they each decided to pledge elsewhere.
That sent the Buckeyes’ recruiting at the position into a tailspin, as many fans worried about the program’s ability to close at the position. Throughout, coaches — including Alford and head coach Ryan Day — remained calm saying that they would “be fine” when all was said and done.
While Williams is not the top-line player that many fans anticipated OSU having in the class, he is a solid, in-state back capable of running between the tackles and bruising for yards against stout Big Ten defenses. He will join Master Teague, Marcus Crowley, and Steele Chambers in the Buckeye running back room, as it is expected that J.K. Dobbins will depart for the NFL following the season.
Check out Williams’ highlights: