A pair of freshmen announced on Saturday that they have become official members of the Ohio State football team. Wide receiver Kyion Grayes and running back Dallan Hayden both posted pictures indicating that they have become the sixth and seventh freshmen to have their black stripes removed.
Grayes, a four-star prospect out of Chandler, Ariz., was an early enrollee for Ohio State over the winter and joins a loaded receiver room with the Buckeyes as he looks to make an impact.
Hayden, meanwhile, is a four-star prospect out of Memphis (Tenn.) Christian Brothers, and was the lone running back commitment in Ohio State’s most recent recruiting class.
Though he only recently arrived on campus, he has been thrust into a more extended role with the loss of running back Evan Pryor for the season. With Pryor on the mend, Hayden – a summer enrollee – is expected to be the third running back for Ohio State behind TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, and running backs coach Tony Alford offered praise for Hayden’s performance during fall camp.
“Dallan goes 100 miles an hour, so the biggest thing we’ve got to figure out is to get him to kind of slow down and take a deep breath,” Alford said. “He’s very hard on himself. He’s the guy that you can tell he wants to do things perfectly, and that bothers him immensely if he doesn’t. He’s going to be a really good player. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good person.”
With Grayes and Hayden shedding their black stripes, that brings the number to seven freshman who have become official members of the team. In order, other freshman that have lost their black stripes includes safety Kye Stokes, defensive end Caden Curry, cornerback Jyaire Brown, linebacker C.J. Hicks and wide receiver Kaleb Brown. Transfer safety Tanner McCalister and linebacker Chip Trayanum, as well as second-year tight end Zak Herbstreit, have also lost their black stripes over the offseason.