COLUMBUS -- Ask anyone affiliated with Ohio State's offense recently what's been wrong with the running game and you'll get answers varying from ''we didn't get it done up front'' (Rob Sims) to ''everybody was too anxious and outrunning their blockers'' (Tony Pittman).
About the only thing everyone can agree upon is the fact it must improve if Ohio State is to have any chance this year in a stacked Big Ten.
Penn State returns 6 starters from a front seven that ranked 10th nationally last year in total defense, Iowa has All-American candidates Abdul Hodge and Chad Greenway back at linebacker from a defense that ranked fifth against the run and Michigan's defensive line and linebackers could both be considered among the nation's Top 10 units this year.
And then there's Ohio State's offense, which finished the season ranked 70th last year in rushing. The Buckeyes were below 100th for much of the year, until quarterback Troy Smith helped the cause by running for 145 yards against Michigan.
''We have to be able to run the ball this year,'' coach Jim Tressel said. ''That's no secret. We have to do a better job than what we've done.''
Lydell Ross was the leading rusher each of the last two years, but totaled just 1,301 yards in that time. Thirteen backs in Division I-A surpassed that total last year alone.
The Buckeyes have produced just two 1,000 yard rushers in the last six years -- Jonathan Wells in 2001 and Maurice Clarett in '02. If it fails to happen again this year, it would be just the second time since 1968 Ohio State has gone three straight years without a 1,000-yard running back. In fact, a strong argument could be made that the only elite tailback to play for Ohio State since Eddie George's Heisman campaign is Clarett.
''If that's what people think, hopefully we can change that this year,'' Sims said. ''I think Pittman can be that guy.''
Pittman will likely receive the first chance at tailback this year, but he'll be pushed by redshirt freshman Erik Haw and true freshman Maurice Wells. Pittman has been the most consistent tailback since spring, according to Tressel, but Haw has improved more in that time.
Pittman packed about 20 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame since last year, putting his playing weight close to 200 pounds.
''I took a beating last year,'' Pittman said. ''By the end of the season, I was really tired. I really wasn't as ready as I thought I was.''
The alarming part of that is the fact Pittman carried just 72 times last year, or roughly one-fourth of the number of carries Michigan freshman Mike Hart received. Pittman had just one game with over 15 carries. Still, Pittman and the coaching staff are hoping the added weight means added endurance, since his workload will likely double -- at least -- this year.
Haw, 6-1, 212 pounds and perhaps the fastest of the three, was cited for smoking marijuana on campus in May and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. He now undergoes frequent testing and has entered a drug education program.
''It's hard to shake that, but throughout the season, throughout the years, I'm going to try to push it behind me,'' Haw said. ''I'm a young man and I'm going to make mistakes -- and I'm probably going to make more. I just ask forgiveness from my family and friends and all of the Ohio State supporters.''
That leaves Wells, a Parade All-American who was widely considered one of the top 15 tailbacks in the country out of Jacksonville, Fla. Wells might have the most upside of the three and helped his cause by learning how to pass block over the summer.
Pass protection is what held Ross back his freshman year and is typically what keeps most true freshman running backs off the field at Ohio State -- especially those that don't enroll early for the 15 spring practices. But Tressel said he's been impressed by Wells' ability to pick up blitzes.
''I called some of the guys to see what I should be working on and they all said pass protect, pass protect, pass protect,'' Wells said. ''Everyone knows how to run the ball, but blocking, that's not what everybody does. So I've been working on it a lot.
''I'll just stick my nose in there and see what happens.''
MililaniBuckeye said:
bkb: No way is Texas coming back from a 31-point deficit in The Shoe at night. The New England Patriots couldn't do that...
Are you serious? NE Patriots would tear any NCAA team apart. Anywhere anytime...