Freshman running back James Peoples (20) smiles during the singing of “Carmen Ohio,” after the game against Purdue. The Buckeyes defeated the Boilermakers 45-0 Nov. 9, 2024. Credit: Carly Damon | Lantern File Photo
For the first time since 1975, when Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson did it, Ohio State had two running backs go for 1,000 yards in the same season. TreyVeon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins revolutionized the Buckeyes’ offense, rushing for a combined 2,119 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading Ohio State to their ninth championship trophy.
Now both are off to the NFL, and the torch has been passed. Replacing that kind of production is a tall task – but sophomore James Peoples and senior transfer CJ Donaldson aren’t shying away from the spotlight. In fact, they’ve already given their tandem a nickname.
“I think it’s going to be Sonic and Knuckles,” Peoples said, referring to the iconic video game duo. “We both run hard. He’s, what, 6-2, 230? I’m excited to see what he’s going to bring and how we’re going to be able to feed off each other.”
Peoples embodies the Sonic name, while Donaldson, a senior who spent three seasons at West Virginia, is perfectly fine wearing the Knuckles name tag.
“I gotta do the dirty work,” Donaldson said. “I’m definitely cool with doing the dirty work. [Peoples] is more of the personality guy. Bad cop, good cop.” Peoples spent his first season preparing for a leading role in the backfield.
While sitting behind Judkins and Henderson, the freshman rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and while it was a great learning experience, Peoples said he is ready to take the jump.
“I’m totally different,” Peoples said. “Through training and the guys I sat behind, just learning from them, and what I’ve seen. I’ve gotten faster, stronger, quicker. Everything has just taken another level up.”
Donaldson delivered nearly identical stat lines with the Mountaineers in 2023 and 2024, tallying between 700 and 800 rushing yards, 4.5–4.7 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns. But his version of leveling up came through trimming down.
“It definitely helps a lot,” Donaldson said. “I can accelerate a lot faster right now. I think I weighed in today at like 227. It feels great not having all that body fat on me. It allows me to play more downs and be more explosive.”
That wasn’t the only thing he was shedding. On Aug. 6, Donaldson’s black stripe was removed, signaling the newcomer has earned the right to play as a Buckeye.
Donaldson’s rise wasn’t easy under running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, who drives home the idea to his players that everything they want, they’re going to have to earn.
“He told me he was going to challenge me,” Donaldson said. “He’s going to bring a different personality and a different animal out of me, which I’m like, ‘I need that challenge.’ It’s important to be challenged.”
For Peoples, the coaching style has been different this season as well, with Locklyn being more critical and pushing him harder in practice. That hasn’t bothered Peoples, who said he trusts Locklyn’s coaching style.
“He preaches all the time there’s a method to the madness,” Peoples said. “The one thing he really stresses is that we play as one in the running back room.”
Even with a national championship under his belt, Peoples is focused on the present.
“That team last year is a whole other team,” Peoples said. “A lot of those guys moved onto their NFL careers. I was there, of course I want to be in it now.”
Locklyn shares the same outlook. He was quick to say that “last year is last year” and that Peoples and Donaldson are carving out their own identity, separate from Henderson and Judkins.
“Those kids are not Q and Tre,” Locklyn said. “They’re themselves. I don’t want them to be nobody else but themselves.”
And he doesn’t sugarcoat the work required to step into the spotlight.
“They’ve got to fill their own shoes,” Locklyn said. “Those things will settle themselves. We’re competing out there every day. If you think you have arrived in that room, you’re going to get your feelings hurt. Because I’m going to make sure I hurt them. You got to come to work every day. If you don’t humble yourself, I will.”
For Peoples, making those shoes fit is a weighty responsibility—but one he’s ready to shoulder.
“That is something I hold upon my shoulders to constantly uphold the standard that those guys before me left,” Peoples said.
Donaldson, meanwhile, has found his footing as a leader in the backfield.
“In the spring, I definitely had those times when I was like ‘Man, am I in the right spot or am I saying the right thing?’ But now it’s like I know what I’m here for and I know the player that I need to be to help this team out.”
That growth comes with a clear vision for the running back group heading into the season opener against Texas. Reflecting on the identity he wants the backfield to carry, Donaldson emphasized cohesion.
“We all dress the same, we look the same, we’re gonna talk the same language and we all go as play as one.”
Sonic and Knuckles might have started as a video game duo, but in Columbus this fall, it’s the backfield tandem Ohio State hopes will power the Buckeyes to another level.
