Former Ohio State, Current Penn State RB James Peoples Claims He'll “Cross Paths” with the Buckeyes in 2026
A former Ohio State player believes he'll see the Buckeyes again in 2026.
Ex-Ohio State tailback James Peoples, who transferred to Penn State during the winter, claims he'll see the Buckeyes again in 2026.
"I intend to cross paths with those guys," Peoples said Friday at Penn State's local media day, according to Mark Wogenrich of Penn State on SI.
Ohio State and Penn State won't face off in 2026 during the regular season, ending a streak of 33 consecutive years in which the teams met.
So Peoples was asked if he expects the Nittany Lions will be a playoff team, to which he replied yes.
"It's nothing different," Peoples said. "I have the same [expectations] as the other team over there. I think there’s no reason this team is not going to make it into the postseason. I have full faith that we are."
Peoples was a four-star recruit in the 2024 recruiting class and was part of Ohio State’s 2024 national championship team.
During his freshman campaign, he was third on the depth chart behind TreVeyon Henderson and then Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins. He finished his rookie year playing college ball with 49 carries for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
He started two games for Ohio State last season against Grambling State and Ohio, but slid down the depth chart after that, finishing the year fourth in the pecking order behind Bo Jackson, West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson and Isaiah West. Peoples ended 2025 with 61 carries for 344 yards and a trio of scores.
In turn, he hit the transfer portal last winter and committed to a Big Ten foe in Penn State, where there is an opportunity for him to contribute. The Nittany Lions lost a pair of four-year starting running backs to the NFL in Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, leaving an open competition to replace them.
Peoples is competing for Penn State’s starting job with Iowa State transfer Carson Hansen, who started the last two years for the Cyclones under head coach Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser, both of whom are now on the Penn State coaching staff. The other player to factor into the competition is Quinton Martin Jr., a former five-star recruit from Pennsylvania, who ran for 101 yards on 20 carries in the Pinstripe Bowl after not recording a touch the whole year.
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