Bold Predictions: An Ohio State player not named Smith or Sayin will win Heisman

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As preseason camp begins this week, Land-Grant Holy Land is diving into its final theme every week of the off-season. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.

I have to admit I got a bit discombobulated with being out of town for the holiday weekend and I didn’t get a chance to lay my bold predictions piece on you during last week’s theme week. However, the saying “better late than never,” exists for a reason, and today it exists for me to get in my bold prediction ahead of the 2026 college football season. Please forgive me for being tardy.

That bold prediction, spicy take, or whatever you prefer calling it is this: An Ohio State player will win the Heisman Trophy following the upcoming season, but it won’t be Jeremiah Smith or Julian Sayin.

Sure, Smith and Sayin are the two most logical candidates, but I’m putting all me eggs in an entirely different basket. It’s a basket shaped like running back Bo Jackson.

A few weeks back, I posited that if Jackson could rush for at least 1,500 yards, Ohio State would have a top-five offense nationally. Just a couple of days ago, our Alex Frank boldly predicted Jackson would lead the Big Ten in rushing.

Like Alex, I believe the combination of Arthur Smith’s system and Jackson’s year of experience and having more time in the Ohio State training program will work wonders for the second-year rusher.

Jackson will break more tackles in 2026, and hopefully he’ll remain healthy from start to finish — something that didn’t happen in 2025 and hampered him in the second half of his freshman year. A healthy Jackson in 2026 will almost certainly contribute more explosion plays, and I think he’ll emerge as a good red zone runner as well.

This will allow the Buckeyes to rely on him to convert in the red zone, and those extra touchdowns will, I believe, be what leads to him getting into the Heisman race by midseason.

While Sayin to Smith will continue to be a potent combination, those two will end up canceling each other out, although one of them may join Jackson in New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Jackson, however, will be putting up his better numbers in 2026 against a better schedule. There will be more high-profile games for Ohio State in 2026, and it’s harder to hand wave good performances in big games than when boat racing Maryland or Purdue.

The going will be tough in Week 2 at Texas, but I still think Jackson is capable of reaching 100 yards and at least one score. With what I think will be even better performances against Iowa, Oregon, Indiana, and Michigan, Jackson is going to impress voters who tune in for the big games that were too few on the OSU schedule last year.

With a 1,500-yard season (or better), and perhaps eclipsing 20 touchdowns, Jackson may emerge as the new face of the Ohio State offense in 2026. Our Jami Jurich wrote that Ohio State’s offense will eclipse 40 points per game in 2026. That will require a big effort from Jackson, and he seems ready for it as he heads into his second collegiate season.

It’s going to be more like five yards and a cloud of dust than three, but Jackson can restore the nation’s admiration for a physical and explosive OSU running game.

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