COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State has lost another running back to the transfer portal. This time its a player who only spent two years in the program.
Chip Trayanum started his career at Arizona State in 2020, turning 132 touches into 716 total yards and 10 touchdowns before heading into the portal the first time. He landed with the Buckeyes ahead of the 2022 season. They originally recruited the former four-star recruit out of high school as a linebacker.
He spent his entire offseason at linebacker before an injury-riddle running back room required his services ahead of a 52-10 win over Iowa. That move ultimately stuck, which included him being the lead back in a home loss to Michigan to close out the regular season. He ran for 92 yards on 15 carries to go along with a 14-yard catch in that game.
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He remained in the running back room this season, elevating himself to the No. 2 back behind TreVeyon Henderson while also taking over a fullback role that once belonged to Mitch Rossi. In that role he ran for 373 yards and three touchdowns on 85 carries to go along with nine catches for 53 yards. But his biggest moment as a Buckeye came in a 17-14 win over Notre Dame where he scored the game-winning touchdown in the remaining seconds of the game.
Now after two seasons, Trayanum is off to the portal looking for a new home as the third running back to do so. He joins Evan Pryor in the portal, while Miyan Williams has declared for the NFL Draft.
That’s three of the five players who were in Ohio State’s running back room this season, leaving only Henderson and Dallan Hayden. Henderson is draft eligible but has not publicly announced his intentions of whether he plans to return or not. Hayden is only in his second year and expects to have a larger role in 2024 after spending this season looking to redshirt. Should Henderson return next year, the two will expect to be joined by 2024 four-star commits Jordan Lyle and James Peoples.
