Legend Bey Getting Another Shot on Kickoff Returns with Chance to Earn More Opportunities on Offense
Despite his electric debut against Ball State, Legend Bey played only one snap against Texas.
That should change this week.
While Bey was replaced on kickoff returns by Devin McCuin against Texas, Ryan Day said Wednesday that Ohio State will give Bey another chance to return kickoffs this week against Kent State.
“We are going to try to get him back now here on kickoff to return some stuff and give him another opportunity back there,” Day said.
Bey was Ohio State’s starting kickoff returner against Ball State, but was removed from that role for the Texas game after he returned both of Ball State’s kickoffs out of the end zone and was stopped inside the 20-yard line both times. That said, Bey offers the potential to be the most dynamic weapon Ohio State has had on kickoff returns since Ted Ginn Jr., so while the Buckeyes didn’t trust him to return kicks against the Longhorns, they still want the explosive and shifty freshman running back in that role long-term.
Perhaps the bigger surprise against Texas was that Bey played only one snap on offense. The ball was tossed to Bey on that play, which came in a two-back set where Bey and Bo Jackson were on the field together. But Bey gained no yards on the play, and he never saw the field again in Ohio State’s 24-23 loss.
Day said Bey did nothing wrong on that play that kept him off the field for the rest of the game, but he still has to fully earn the coaching staff’s trust. As long as Bey does that, though, Day says he will see more playing time going forward.
“For him, he's just got to continually earn trust with the staff. That's what it comes down to. And the more he does that, the more opportunities he's going to have,” Day said. “But there's no question that if he can continue to do that and be accountable to do his job on each play, then he can be a real weapon for us. And that's what we need. He can create explosive plays. He has that ability. So we'll try to get him going here this week.”
Although Day and Arthur Smith didn’t end up calling them, Day said there were more plays built into the two-back package that it could have run with Bey, while Day says Bey could also see more playing time at running back going forward.
“We have to continue to build packages for those guys and bring them along,” Day said regarding Bey and other young players. “But there were a few other things that we had in that package for him, and then there's just the times when he's out there at running back. So we'll look to increase that as we go.”
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