Five Deep—A Closer Look at Ohio State's 2015 Running Backs

By HD Handshoe—BlockONation Founder

Image courtesy of Taylor Wilhelm

A lot has been made — and rightfully so — of the unique position Ohio State finds itself in this coming season, with essentially three starting quarterbacks returning, but that's a discussion to save for later this fall.

While what happens this coming season at quarterback is about as clear as mud right now, the running back hierarchy should be a lot less cloudy.

Despite having off-season wrist surgery, certain 2015 Heisman Trophy candidate Ezekiel Elliott sits atop a heap of young and talented backs.

Running back coach Stan Drayton left the Buckeyes and took a job with the Chicago Bears in February causing some speculation that the production of Elliott and company could tail off without him.

Drayton was instrumental in developing the Buckeye's potent rushing attack during his three years in Columbus.

He also played a huge role in the recruitment of highly-touted running back Mike Weber, who signed with the Buckeyes just one day before Drayton's departure. Initially, Weber seemed to react somewhat negatively on Twitter but in the end was happy with Drayton's replacement.

Ohio State hired former Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford, whom many consider a very ample replacement and possibly even an upgrade.

Truthfully with each of their exceptional running abilities, I could go Eight Deep with this article or list Braxton Miller, JT Barrett and Cardale Jones at 3, 4, and 5 on the RB depth chart.

That's how great Ohio State is at running the ball, but since the QBs aren't RBs, I'll shelve that thought for the sake of this article.

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How I see them stacking up

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5. Mike Weber — 4-star incoming freshman that could potentially challenge Ball and/or Dunn for the backup to the backup spot. If my memory serves me correctly, being the 3rd man up wasn't a bad thing last season,...not at all...

4. Warren Ball Jr. 2014 Stats — 18 carries, 88 yards, 4.7 yards per carry.

3. Brionte Dunn 2014 Stats — 9 carries, 63 yards, 7.0 yards per carry.

2. Curtis Samuel 2014 Stats — 58 carries, 383 yards, 6.6 yards per carry, 6 rushing touchdowns and 11 receptions for 95 yards.

1. Ezekiel Elliott 2014 Stats — 273 carries, 1,878 yards, 6.9 yards per carry, 18 rushing touchdowns and 28 receptions for 220 yards.

We may know a little more about where the RB chips will fall under Elliott once Spring football concludes on Saturday, April 18th.

Than again, there could still be some jockeying behind Elliott and Samuel through the end of August and right up to kickoff in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech on Monday September 7th.

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@BlockONation


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Ohio State Football 2012: Depth Chartin' Part I — Quarterback and Running Back

Ohio State finally began Spring Football this week.

Practices under new head coach Urban Meyer have been labeled intense, but that's not exactly shocking given the annual expectation level at Ohio State.

With many early-arrivals from the highly-touted 2012 recruiting class already on campus, several position, and depth chart battles have emerged.

Just after NSD, Meyer stated that he did not recruit guys to redshirt at Ohio State — a refreshing and welcomed change from previous seasons where seemingly seniority sometimes mattered more when it came to playing time than on-the-field talent.

Jim Tressel was a great coach but most would agree that he was often too loyal to his upperclassmen.

It does not matter how long any player has been in the program. No one should earn their playing time based on seniority (cough, Joe Bauserman, cough). The best 22 players should start regardless of what class designation they belong to, period — and Meyer gets that.

By the time the Scarlet and Gray game is played on April 21st, the depth chart should be pretty firmly set. There is, however, still some time to jostle things around a bit and for guys to move up in the ranks, so with that in mind, here's a very early look at how the depth chart is shaping up at several key positions.

Quarterback

Obviously, there's no quarterback controversy in Columbus — Meyer was practically frothing at the mouth during his introduction press conference over the prospect of coaching Braxton Miller, but Buckeye fans shouldn't soon forget that Meyer played two quarterbacks while at Florida back in 2006 (Chris Leak and some guy named Tebow) and that turned out pretty well for them (41-14).

Miller is the starter, but a solid backup QB is just as important, especially when you have a dual-threat QB who's going to take some hits — which means backup Kenny Guiton and freshman Cardale Jones will both need to be game-ready.

So far, Meyer has liked what he's seen from both Miller and Guiton, saying "Both those kids, the answer is yes, they can throw." Now, there's all the other stuff that goes on, but they can physically throw the ball, both of them. I feel good about those guys."

When he's gotten the chance to play, Guiton has shown he can guide the offense, and given Meyer's comments, he could occasionally find himself on the field, if for no other reason than to mix things up and keep opposing defenses guessing, or to give Braxton a quick breather and/or some in-game coaching — something he sorely lacked in 2011.

Depth Chart

Braxton Miller

Kenny Guiton

Cardale Jones

Running Back

While the hierarchy at quarterback has been established, determining the backfield pecking order could be described as a blurry quandary — not so much because of a lack of talent or depth, but rather, a lack of "working together" experience between the new staff and the players, and because the incumbent, Boom Herron, is gone.

Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde are experienced-ish, while Rod Smith isn't — when he did play (ever-so-sparingly) in 2011, he fumbled away the ball, and his spot on the offense altogether temporarily when he was moved to defense — nor is 5-star true freshman, Bri'onte Dunn.

With the loss of Herron to graduation, no clear-cut starter returns or has emerged as of yet, so all four backs have been getting reps early on. Meyer said they have momentum and "as long as that continues the talent there is fine."

Hall is the most experienced, but unlike Hyde, he is unlikely to be a workhorse back that could carry the ball 20 times per game. Instead, dumping the ball off to him on a halfback screen or out of the slot would suit Hall's talents much better.

Hyde has drawn comparisons to Beanie Wells and even Eddie George. He's not as fast as Beanie, or as dynamic as Eddie, but he does have decent speed and power, and most importantly, he protects the football. In 2011, Hyde averaged 5.4 yards per rush and fumbled just twice in 106 carries.

While Smith and Dunn were both heavily recruited and highly rated coming out of H.S., they must both prove themselves on the field the rest of the spring and this fall.

The arrival of Warren Ball, a 4-star RB in the 2012 class, will also affect the final depth chart this fall. Between Ball and Dunn, one of them might have to redshirt this season, rather than waste a year of eligibility.

Depth Chart (subject to change)

Carlos Hyde

Jordan Hall

Bri'onte Dunn

Rod Smith

Warren Ball

Coming soon

Part II — Wide Receiver

Part III — D-Line / Linebacker

Part IV — Safety / Cornerback

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@BlockONation

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Despite Distractions/Tattoos/Doomsday Predictions, OSU's 2012 Class Shaping Up Nicely

National Signing Day 2012 is over 7 months away, meaning a lot can still happen in terms of which prospects commit to or decommit from Ohio State in the coming months, but don't expect the worst, because it's not going to happen.

Regardless of where the OSU 2012 class ends up in the national rankings, the cupboards are far from bare in Columbus.

The Buckeyes have brought in a top 5 class in 3 of the last 4 years and have had a top 25 class every year since 2002 -- a trend that will likely live on when the dust settles next February.

5-star Lineman Kyle Kalis (6-5, 305), Ohio's top-rated player in the 2012 class recently retracted his verbal commitment to tOSU but is still considering the Buckeyes.

Personally, I believe he will ultimately become a Buckeye, but if he does go elsewhere, he's just one guy, and it's not like he's a QB, RB, or WR -- he's an offensive lineman -- a position that Ohio State isn't in dire need of filling at the moment.

Before Kalis decided to look at other programs, 4-star LB Ejaun Price (5-11, 230), a member of the 2011 class for the Buckeyes asked to be released from his LOI. His release was granted and he will be playing football for Pitt instead.

Again, Price is a good player, but not a skill position game-changer. Not to mention, Ohio State always has stud linebackers on the roster, so alas, the Buckeyes will be fine moving forward without him.

While Kalis is on the fence, the other 9 talented players should all be considered moderate to solid verbal commits that are still heading to Columbus in 2012. Here are video highlights of each.


5-Star RB Brionte Dunn (6-1, 215)
Glen Oak HS (Canton, OH)




4-Star RB Warren Ball (6-2, 200)
St Francis Desales HS (Columbus, OH)




4-Star LB/WR Joshua Perry (6-3, 225)
Olentangy HS (Lewis Center, OH)




4-Star S Devan Bogard (6-1, 175)
Glenville HS (Cleveland, OH)




3-Star TE Blake Thomas (6-4, 225)
St Ignatius HS (Cleveland, OH)




3-Star WR/ATH Frank Epitropoulos (6-3, 195)
Upper Arlington HS (Upper Arlington, OH)




3-Star OL Jacoby Boren (6-2, 275)
Pickerington HS (Pickerington, OH)




3-Star S Tyvis Powell (6-3, 180)
Bedford HS (Bedford, OH)




3-Star CB Najee Murray (5-11, 175)
Steubenville HS (Steubenville, OH)




All 9 guys are from Ohio and 5 of them are "only" 3-Star prospects. Critics like to allude to those facts as a sign of some impending apocalypse.

Ever heard of AJ Hawk, Santonio Holmes, or James Laurinaitus? They too were also once considered "lowly" 3-Star recruits. For the record, I love the Epitropoulos kid. He is VASTLY underrated IMO.

As for none of these recruits being from out of state -- This really shouldn't have to be pointed out to anyone, but apparently it needs to be said, so in closing:

OHIO IS ONE OF THE MOST FERTILE GROUNDS IN THE ENTIRE NATION WHEN IT COMES TO HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL AND FUTURE D-I COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS, SO HAVING A CLASS FULL OF OHIO-GROWN PLAYERS IS NOT A BAD DEAL...


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