Why Sam Williams-Dixon thinks he can be a 'Curtis Samuel-type' back for Ohio State
Colin GaySam Williams-Dixon views himself as an underrated, yet complete running back.
To the Pickerington North running back and 2024 Ohio State commit, the formula is simple: get open, catch the ball and run routes well.
“That’s a complete running back,” Williams-Dixon said. “That’s me.”
Ahead of joining the Buckeyes as an early enrollee next January, this is the role Williams-Dixon is set to fill in Ohio State’s running backs room: a versatile piece that can move the offense down the field as a receiving back.
Williams-Dixon views himself as a “complete running back” ready to be utilized in what Tony Alford aspires to be a complete running back room, along with Texas four-star James Peoples and Florida four-star Jordan Lyle in the 2024 class.
“We all have different skill sets,” Williams-Dixon said. “We know that one’s always power, we always got the receiving guy and we always have the guy that can split the defense. That’s what I think Tony Alford is trying to bring to the table. We’re trying to bring that H-back… Curtis Samuel-type thing back.”
At the Under Armour Next Ohio football camp at Fortress Obetz Sunday, Williams-Dixon gave Alford, who stood on the sideline with his son Brayden participating in the camp, a preview of what he could do for the Buckeyes in 2024.
Working in one-on-one drills, the 5-foot-11, 203-pound running back consistently created separation from opposing linebackers with his burst and elusiveness at the line of scrimmage, showing off what he called his “amazing” route running.
Williams-Dixon finished the camp as one of two MVPs at running back along with Bo Jackson, a 2025 running back out of Cleveland, who holds an Ohio State offer.
“Coming out here, I was kind of underrated,” Williams-Dixon said. “Just coming out here to show them some of what I can do against top-tier talent is what I came here to do. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
For Williams-Dixon, this versatile role has always been the plan for when he arrives at Ohio State. But ahead of his arrival in January, and during his first season at Pickerington North after transferring from West Holmes High School in Millersburg, he still has work to do, getting into the film room and aspiring to be “more detailed” in the backfield.
For Ohio State, Williams-Dixon said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win and “wow the crowd,” something he said he has talked about with both Peoples and Lyle.
“Week 1, 2024," Williams-Dixon said, "we’re ready.”