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Area foursome to put fear in foes
Standout running backs ready for college season
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Most likely it is a coincidence, a cycle, a twist of fate. Four standout tailbacks, all products of Akron-area high schools, primed to make an impact this year in Division I-A.
Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton, a sophomore from Hoban, is the Big Ten's leading returning rusher with 1,474 yards. Mr. Football in 2004, he kicked off the season Thursday night at Miami University.
Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, a junior from Buchtel, finished his first campaign as the Buckeyes' starter with 1,331 yards.
Scoring the game-clinching touchdown in the final two games against Michigan and Notre Dame, he'll begin his bid for postseason recognition when OSU opens Saturday at home against Northern Illinois.
Syracuse's Delone Carter, a freshman from Copley, rushed for 5,291 yards and 77 touchdowns the past two seasons. Mr. Football in 2005, he will share playing time with two unproven sophomores Saturday as the Orangemen visit Wake Forest.
Ohio State's Chris Wells, a freshman from Garfield, was a Parade All-American and MVP of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Coming off a 2,134-yard season, he will see action behind Pittman against the Huskies.
``Like they say Miami of Ohio is the cradle of coaches; right now Akron, Ohio, is the cradle of running backs,'' Sutton said recently. ``It's fantastic to see guys getting out of here and doing things in the real world, doing spectacular in our sports.
``For all of us to grow up in the same area, it's phenomenal. All of us went to high school in the city. It's kind of hard to overlook what we've done and what we're trying to accomplish.''
Carter, who transferred from Hoban after playing for two years behind Sutton, believes the competition they had among themselves might have driven them to become better.
``I believe so,'' he said. ``Nobody is a slouch where we come from. There's a lot of athletes coming out of Akron.''
They share the same roots, the same dreams. And ironically, Pittman and Sutton also share the same birthday, Dec. 19, a date that also produced pro athletes Reggie White, Warren Sapp, Jake Plummer and Al Kaline.
``If you think about it, Akron's not that big a city for that many players to come out and actually start and be productive in Division I,'' Pittman said. ``This is something new. It's great for the city. It gives everybody hope back home that they can actually make it.''
They also share close ties.
Pittman and Sutton played together on the same pee-wee team, Sutton as Pittman's fullback. They also went to the same middle school.
``In pee-wees he was always that fast guy that could outrun everybody. Now he's showing his ability to break tackles. He's definitely proven himself,'' Sutton said of Pittman.
Wells said Pittman was his idol in high school. Wells now considers Pittman like a big brother, since he's taken him under his wing after he enrolled early for spring quarter.
Sutton has known Wells since pee-wee football and competed against him in high school.
But the two with the strongest bond might be Sutton and Carter. They worked out together during their prep days with Sutton's father, Anthony Sr., an Akron police officer. Sutton said Carter beat him in upper-body weight work, but he excelled in their lower body sessions. Sutton describes Carter as ``like my little brother.''
``I watched his highlight tape when he won Mr. Football; it was simply amazing,'' Sutton said of Carter. ``He had this (65-yard touchdown) run against Barberton where he got tackled by like five guys and he put his hand down, it was phenomenal. I've haven't even done anything like that. It seems odd, but it seems like we're doing the exact same thing. I just want him to surpass what I'm doing.''
Everything about this emergence of talent seems odd.
Odd and special.
``You saw right away these guys were special, you couldn't stop them,'' Garfield coach Bob Sax said. ``You just hoped they didn't go for 300 or 400 yards on you.''
Trying to recall other dominant running backs who played in the same era, Sax went back to Garfield's Charles Gladman, St. Vincent-St. Mary's Frank Stams Jr. and Massillon's Chris Spielman. The latter two played linebacker in the NFL, but Stams went to Notre Dame as a fullback.
Copley coach Dan Boarman said Pittman, Wells, Sutton and Carter are merely following in the footsteps of other great Akron-area backs. He suggested John Wooldridge (Central-Hower, Ohio State), Lawrence Ricks (Barberton, Michigan), Billy Taylor (Barberton, Michigan) and Ricky Powers (Buchtel, Michigan). But there might never have been a confluence of talent from the Akron area like this one.
``It's amazing. I never knew something like that could happen,'' said Northwestern receivers coach Kevin Johns, who handled running backs last year. ``It happens to be a good time to be a running back from Akron.
``These things run in cycles. We're glad we have Tyrell. We know how good high school football is in Ohio.''
Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said he's stepped up recruiting efforts in eastern Ohio in the past 18 months.
``We're recruiting Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, that whole area,'' said Robinson, a former NFL assistant with the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. ``To me it seems like a stone's throw to Syracuse. It's right up I-90. I have a strong belief we should be in there.''
Boarman said when recruiting restrictions were looser, he shared a locker at St. Vincent-St. Mary with now-Minnesota coach Glen Mason, and the two jogged together. That kind of access is now prohibited. Boarman said the national attention on Wells last season ``did stimulate a lot of interest in this area.''
``He was pretty much uncovered the summer of his junior year and that may have helped our kids,'' Boarman said.
Even though he landed two, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel sounded like he covets them all now. Sutton, not recruited by OSU because he is 5-foot-7, rushed for 93 yards on 14 carries against the Buckeyes a year ago and is already pointing for the Nov. 11 rematch. OSU showed some late interest in Carter.
Asked about the Akron-area four, Tressel said, ``It makes me yearn for the days when there were unlimited scholarships.''
Area foursome to put fear in foes
Standout running backs ready for college season
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Most likely it is a coincidence, a cycle, a twist of fate. Four standout tailbacks, all products of Akron-area high schools, primed to make an impact this year in Division I-A.
Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton, a sophomore from Hoban, is the Big Ten's leading returning rusher with 1,474 yards. Mr. Football in 2004, he kicked off the season Thursday night at Miami University.
Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, a junior from Buchtel, finished his first campaign as the Buckeyes' starter with 1,331 yards.
Scoring the game-clinching touchdown in the final two games against Michigan and Notre Dame, he'll begin his bid for postseason recognition when OSU opens Saturday at home against Northern Illinois.
Syracuse's Delone Carter, a freshman from Copley, rushed for 5,291 yards and 77 touchdowns the past two seasons. Mr. Football in 2005, he will share playing time with two unproven sophomores Saturday as the Orangemen visit Wake Forest.
Ohio State's Chris Wells, a freshman from Garfield, was a Parade All-American and MVP of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Coming off a 2,134-yard season, he will see action behind Pittman against the Huskies.
``Like they say Miami of Ohio is the cradle of coaches; right now Akron, Ohio, is the cradle of running backs,'' Sutton said recently. ``It's fantastic to see guys getting out of here and doing things in the real world, doing spectacular in our sports.
``For all of us to grow up in the same area, it's phenomenal. All of us went to high school in the city. It's kind of hard to overlook what we've done and what we're trying to accomplish.''
Carter, who transferred from Hoban after playing for two years behind Sutton, believes the competition they had among themselves might have driven them to become better.
``I believe so,'' he said. ``Nobody is a slouch where we come from. There's a lot of athletes coming out of Akron.''
They share the same roots, the same dreams. And ironically, Pittman and Sutton also share the same birthday, Dec. 19, a date that also produced pro athletes Reggie White, Warren Sapp, Jake Plummer and Al Kaline.
``If you think about it, Akron's not that big a city for that many players to come out and actually start and be productive in Division I,'' Pittman said. ``This is something new. It's great for the city. It gives everybody hope back home that they can actually make it.''
They also share close ties.
Pittman and Sutton played together on the same pee-wee team, Sutton as Pittman's fullback. They also went to the same middle school.
``In pee-wees he was always that fast guy that could outrun everybody. Now he's showing his ability to break tackles. He's definitely proven himself,'' Sutton said of Pittman.
Wells said Pittman was his idol in high school. Wells now considers Pittman like a big brother, since he's taken him under his wing after he enrolled early for spring quarter.
Sutton has known Wells since pee-wee football and competed against him in high school.
But the two with the strongest bond might be Sutton and Carter. They worked out together during their prep days with Sutton's father, Anthony Sr., an Akron police officer. Sutton said Carter beat him in upper-body weight work, but he excelled in their lower body sessions. Sutton describes Carter as ``like my little brother.''
``I watched his highlight tape when he won Mr. Football; it was simply amazing,'' Sutton said of Carter. ``He had this (65-yard touchdown) run against Barberton where he got tackled by like five guys and he put his hand down, it was phenomenal. I've haven't even done anything like that. It seems odd, but it seems like we're doing the exact same thing. I just want him to surpass what I'm doing.''
Everything about this emergence of talent seems odd.
Odd and special.
``You saw right away these guys were special, you couldn't stop them,'' Garfield coach Bob Sax said. ``You just hoped they didn't go for 300 or 400 yards on you.''
Trying to recall other dominant running backs who played in the same era, Sax went back to Garfield's Charles Gladman, St. Vincent-St. Mary's Frank Stams Jr. and Massillon's Chris Spielman. The latter two played linebacker in the NFL, but Stams went to Notre Dame as a fullback.
Copley coach Dan Boarman said Pittman, Wells, Sutton and Carter are merely following in the footsteps of other great Akron-area backs. He suggested John Wooldridge (Central-Hower, Ohio State), Lawrence Ricks (Barberton, Michigan), Billy Taylor (Barberton, Michigan) and Ricky Powers (Buchtel, Michigan). But there might never have been a confluence of talent from the Akron area like this one.
``It's amazing. I never knew something like that could happen,'' said Northwestern receivers coach Kevin Johns, who handled running backs last year. ``It happens to be a good time to be a running back from Akron.
``These things run in cycles. We're glad we have Tyrell. We know how good high school football is in Ohio.''
Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said he's stepped up recruiting efforts in eastern Ohio in the past 18 months.
``We're recruiting Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, that whole area,'' said Robinson, a former NFL assistant with the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. ``To me it seems like a stone's throw to Syracuse. It's right up I-90. I have a strong belief we should be in there.''
Boarman said when recruiting restrictions were looser, he shared a locker at St. Vincent-St. Mary with now-Minnesota coach Glen Mason, and the two jogged together. That kind of access is now prohibited. Boarman said the national attention on Wells last season ``did stimulate a lot of interest in this area.''
``He was pretty much uncovered the summer of his junior year and that may have helped our kids,'' Boarman said.
Even though he landed two, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel sounded like he covets them all now. Sutton, not recruited by OSU because he is 5-foot-7, rushed for 93 yards on 14 carries against the Buckeyes a year ago and is already pointing for the Nov. 11 rematch. OSU showed some late interest in Carter.
Asked about the Akron-area four, Tressel said, ``It makes me yearn for the days when there were unlimited scholarships.''
