Eric Boggs
It’s official. Eleven Warriors confirmed Friday that Ohio State walk-on running back TC Caffey has suffered a knee injury during offseason workouts. While helping at the Special Skills Football Invitational at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Caffey was seen wearing a brace and sleeve on his right knee.
Ohio State has not confirmed how serious the injury is or when Caffey might return. However, Bucknuts’ Dave Biddle reported Thursday that Caffey is expected to miss the 2024 season.
Even though Caffey is a walk-on, he was competing for playing time behind TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon are the only other scholarship running backs on Ohio State’s current roster after Dallan Hayden transferred to Colorado. Coach Ryan Day had mentioned plans to use Caffey this season.
Coach Day praised Caffey, saying, “The other guy who’s been very, very good in there and I think is going to play for us and get carries for us is TC Caffey. He’s done a very good job, he’s very disciplined in his approach, and he’s a guy that can really bring value for us.”
Caffey made a name for himself with an impressive 49-yard touchdown run against Toledo in 2022. He finished that season with 10 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, his progress was halted by a torn ACL that October. He missed the rest of the 2022 season and didn’t play in 2023.
Now, Caffey faces another major knee injury. As a redshirt sophomore, he has two more years of eligibility to play in 2025 and 2026.
With Caffey out for the year, Ohio State will need to rely on its freshman running backs if Henderson or Judkins are unavailable. Safety Caleb Downs has also been mentioned by Coach Day as a possible option for depth at running back, but it’s unclear how much they will use him on offense.
