2009 tOSU Running Backs discussion (official thread)

[TBuck_]

I think TP will be around 800 yards rushing this year and 2000 passing. I can't wait to see the spring game to check out some of the new formations and running attacks.

Absolutely. I've been itching, literally (I know, ew), to see the spring game since I saw UGA's was on ESPN. I'm going through college football withdrawl BAD right now.

 

[martinss01]

I think ideally, the carries break down something like this (per game) on average:
Boom: 15-18
Berry: 6-10
Saine: 4-6
Pryor: 8-12
Others: 2-3

That spreads it around enough to keep legs fresh and hopefully healthy.

hmmm... if pryor is running the ball 8-12 times a game either the opposing teams are very literally giving him 10 yrds + a run or we are having some major issues. id prefer to see 4-8 personally. the idea of my qb having 12 designed runs a game disturbs me. expecially when you factor in the time rules. 12 is a whole lot of plays at this point.

my personal oppinion is we are going to see hyde make a serious push by the end of the year. i know he isn't as highly touted as berry but i think people underestimate both his speed as well as his athletic ability and tend to only see his size and power.

the most interesting battle for playing time imo will be between saine and berry. saine has the early advantage due to experience and known blocking experience. though i certainly would not write berry off. because of injuries i see saine as being rather vulnerable playing time wise.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

hmmm... if pryor is running the ball 8-12 times a game either the opposing teams are very literally giving him 10 yrds + a run or we are having some major issues. id prefer to see 4-8 personally. the idea of my qb having 12 designed runs a game disturbs me. expecially when you factor in the time rules. 12 is a whole lot of plays at this point.

He probably had at least 8-12 last year, including sacks which count as carries. 4 is much too low. What makes him special is his running ability. I'd like to see about 10 carries a game, not including sacks.

 

[martinss01]

Edit: I found a clip of just that run..against Illinois...

while it didn't go for a td, he managed to launch the safties mouthpiece about 7 yrds.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gz42PIX1ZM"]YouTube - antonio pittman replay[/ame]

i know the quality of the vid isn't the greatest, but anytime i think of antonio i think of that run.

 

[piquafilipe]

People keep saying Brandon hasn't shown them anything yet, when would he have done that? When he was a true freshman behind one of the best running backs in Beanie Wells or when he was sidelined with a hamstring injury? Give him a chance and stop counting him out. Had he been healthy last year he would have been used to his full potential and competed full heartedly for the spot behind Beanie. He's a good player and support is what he needs especially from his own fans, let the people up north be the nay-sayers. All we can do is hope that Dan and Brandon can work together with Pryor and everyone else to bring home a national championship.

 

[southcampus]

I liked what I read about him today. Big runs up the middle, chasing down Rolle after a fumble. Love hearing stuff like that. I can't wait to see him be the premier back on the 25th to see where he is at right now.

 

[Sportsbuck28]

Defense rules (barely) (Blogging the Buckeyes)

Some stats and standouts:
-- Run game looked better than the passing game. Dan Herron (11 for 46, TD), Brandon Saine (17 for 84) and Marcus Williams (13 for 51), the top three tailbacks in spring drills, combined to average 4.4 a carry.
Saine in particular ran hard and well.

Ohio State football: Defense wins jersey scrimmage as sophomore defensive end Solomon Thomas gets seven sacks - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

Brandon Saine, sharing time on the first-team offense with Herron, ran very tough, breaking tackles several times and spinning away for more yardage. He was probably the star of the scrimmage for the offense, finishing with about 80 yards rushing on around 15 carries.

 

[southcampus]

Brandon might take offense to so many people writing him off after just 2 seasons. He's gonna make some plays this fall if he stays healthy and I love the fact that we have 2 running backs with different styles ready to play.

 

[NFBuck]

hmmm... if pryor is running the ball 8-12 times a game either the opposing teams are very literally giving him 10 yrds + a run or we are having some major issues. id prefer to see 4-8 personally. the idea of my qb having 12 designed runs a game disturbs me. expecially when you factor in the time rules. 12 is a whole lot of plays at this point.

Didn't mean 8-12 designed runs necessarily...just 8-12 total, to include improversations (which I'm sure, or at least hope, there will be many), busted plays and designs. 8-12 totals out to 100-120 for the year which isn't a whole lot for an athlete of TP's calibre. Hell, 120 may be lowballing it. For a measuring stick, Vince Young ran it 167 times as a Soph and 155 as a Junior and Troy ran it 136 times in 11 games as a Junior...

He probably had at least 8-12 last year, including sacks which count as carries. 4 is much too low. What makes him special is his running ability. I'd like to see about 10 carries a game, not including sacks.

Yep, TP ended up with 139 attempts over the 13 games last year...almost 11 a game. And that was with a lot of us complaining that he was too hesitant to tuck and run...

Early prediction for stats...
Passing: 180-290, 2200 Yards, 18 TD, 8 Int
Rushing: 140-850, 10 Td

 

[Buckskin86]

Backs pass replacement test
Sunday, April 26, 2009
By Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Dan Herron understands the history and the challenge. He embraces it.

He and Brandon Saine know it's now their duty to uphold the legacy that comes with playing running back at Ohio State.

"With the great tradition Ohio State has had, it's a great honor for me to even be in this situation right now," Herron said.

The past three years, Chris "Beanie" Wells has carried on the tradition. Yesterday, Arizona took Wells with the 31st pick of the NFL draft.

Herron and Saine don't have Wells' wondrous ability, but they are ready to assume the mantle.

"I'm very confident we can get the job done," Herron said. "We've been working hard. We knew there was going to come the day when Beanie was going to be gone."

The first major step in the process came yesterday in the team's annual spring game, and they passed the test.

Herron, who's more of a power runner, ran 10 times for 43 yards, including an 18-yarder. The speedy Saine gained 55 yards on six carries. Most of his damage came on a three-play sequence to start the second half in which he gained 17, 21 and 10 yards.

"It was a great moment for me," Saine said. "I was ready to get back in there and do it again. But the way the game played out, I wasn't able to. I was kind of bummed about that."

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Backs pass replacement test

 

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State football: Who will be the leading rusher?
by Doug Lesmerises
Monday May 04, 2009

Now that spring practice is complete, I'll have five thoughts on each Ohio State position group: receivers, defensive line, offensive line, defensive backs, running backs, quarterbacks, and linebackers.

Last week we hit the receivers, defensive line, offensive line and defensive backs, so this week we start with the running backs.

Ohio State running backs

Thought No. 1

Two running backs rushing for 1,000 yards each is out of the question, but ...

With Dan Herron and Brandon Saine, Ohio State could offer an equal jobshare in the backfield and what should be an effective one-two punch.

How about at least 700 rushing yards from each of them? Last season, Ohio State running backs combined for 1,844 rushing yards. Two seasons ago, it was 2,315. Three seasons ago, 1,980. Four seasons ago, 1,642.


In all four of those seasons, the Buckeyes had a 1,000-yard rusher, first Antonio Pittman for two seasons, then Beanie Wells for two.

I'll take a guess here that for the first time since 2004, Ohio State won't have a 1,000-yard rusher in 2009. But Herron, Saine and Terrelle Pryor could all finish somewhere between 700 yards and 900 yards.

That's a lot, but I think it's possible.

Ohio State football: Who will be the leading rusher? - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

Ohio State football: How the freshmen fit into the backfield
by Doug Lesmerises
Monday May 04, 2009

Thought No. 2

Among the incoming freshmen running backs, I'll take Carlos Hyde to play more his first season.

This is a guess based only on need and size. Hyde, at 225 pounds, offers something different than Brandon Saine and Dan Herron, while Jaamal Berry (5-11 and 193) and Jordan Hall (5-9 and 185) are more like the backs already in place.

Hyde might be the answer to one critical question: Who gets the ball and what's the play call on third-and-1?

Ohio State football: How the freshmen fit into the backfield - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

Ohio State football: Assessing the real Brandon Saine
by Doug Lesmerises
Monday May 04, 2009

Thought No. 3

I'm out of good things to say about Brandon Saine.

What's left after his fantastic showing this spring? The guy is a nearly 220-pound sprint champion. And three months ago, I wasn't even factoring him into Ohio State's running game for next fall.

How could you? In two seasons at Ohio State, Brandon Saine has carried the ball 86 times for 332 yards.

Ohio State football: Assessing the real Brandon Saine - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

Ohio State football: Is Boom the right nickname for Herron?
by Doug Lesmerises
Monday May 04, 2009

Ohio State running backs

Thought No. 4

I'm torn on what to call Dan Herron ... I think Scoot is better than Boom.

I remember the day when we all realized that Chris Wells preferred to go by Beanie. It wasn't just a nickname, it was who he was, and I always tried to refer to him as Beanie from then on.

But for Herron, who according to his dad, was actually nicknamed "Boone" - like Daniel Boone - before the name took on a football twist, I like Scoot better.

Ohio State football: Is Boom the right nickname for Herron? - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

Ohio State football: The tougher brothers - Homan or Boren?
by Doug Lesmerises
Monday May 04, 2009

Ohio State running backs

Thought No. 5

Anyone want to see a tag-team match between the Homans and the Borens?

To be fair, one piece from each of Ohio State's new brother pairings wasn't at full strength this spring. Freshman linebacker Zach Boren sat out while rehabbing from knee surgery, while junior linebacker Ross Homan sat out chunks of the spring after pulling his hamstring.

But healthy, Borens vs. Homans might be good one. Junior offensive lineman Justin Boren was knocking over people all spring, and so was incoming freshman fullback Adam Homan.

Homan gave proper respect to the Borens when asked to assess the match.

"I don't know, Justin Boren is a pretty big load, and Zach is no slouch," Homan said. "He really hasn't had the chance to show anything yet."

Ohio State football: The tougher brothers - Homan or Boren? - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

 

[RugbyBuck]

I'm reminded of the night game we played at West VA on national tv a few years ago. We had four decent backs and rotated them all in. By the midpoint of the third quarter the BanjoPickers didn't want any more of us.

I haven't seen much, if any, tape of the freshmen, but I'm inclined to think that we'll have a more talented stable of backs than we took to Morgantown. I'd love to see us really work defenses this year. Pound'em, spread'em out, pound'em, take'em wide, go deep, pound'em. Oops, sorry, back to football, got a little carried away there.

 

[Tlangs]

I'm reminded of the night game we played at West VA on national tv a few years ago. We had four decent backs and rotated them all in. By the midpoint of the third quarter the BanjoPickers didn't want any more of us.

If by a few....you mean 11 then yeah. :)

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I've watched the Spring Game twice and I've been quite impressed with both Saine and Herron. Both showed excellent burst and solid power. A few other teams will have one back that's better than either Saine or Herron but there will be virtually no teams that will have a RB tandem that's better than Zoom and Boom.

 

[RugbyBuck]

If by a few....you mean 11 then yeah. :)

Feels like only yesterday. Damn, I'm getting old.