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- Thread starter MD Buckeye
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While I don't view Harris as a "must get", he is pretty darn important considering we purposefully passed on taking a RB in 2014 (I think Campbell projects as a slot). We have put all our eggs in the Harris basket essentially...yes, there are still names on the board but we knocked the doors down for Harris to the exclusion of recruiting Jacques Patrick, Soso Jamabo, Weber (I think he would've been in this class already if it was his choice), etc. Granted that we are looking at a monster RB class for '16, we still need a stud in '15 with Rod leaving next year and Elliott turning a junior. Then (and I won't speculate who) a transfer at the bottom of the current depth chart would not surprise me at all. All that being said, I still like our position with Harris but hopefully Cornell and Hilliard can get him up to hang in Columbus soon.
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Didn't we get Curtis Samuel for 2014? And we seemed like long shots for Patrick and Jamabo anyway. Our most realistic shots at RB always seemed to be Scott, Weber and Harris. And though Campbell projects as a pivot, we all know that he'll get a number of carries, as will Wilson and Marshall who also play the Pivot. The RB position in this offense is almost a blurred line when it comes to carries. And if we can get Torrance Gibson, the line gets blurred even more as he'll also get carries, and to be honest all of our QBs are athletic enough(including Burrow) where they'll see carries. I am seeing Harris as less of a must get as this season goes along, watching this offense mature. We need a RB in is class to continue our depth though, and thatll be the question until NsD of who it'll be
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MaxBuck
SoCal, Baby!
I always want more speed, and more playmakers. With that said, additional offensive linemen with athleticism, ability to listen and learn, and a bad attitude strike me as more critical to Buckeye success than another running back, no matter how good (and I'm certain Harris is very good indeed).
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Wham
All-American
Our offense absolutely needs at least one work horse. Hyde last year and elliet this year. Smith is going. Samuel is not a workhorse. Dunn was jumped by elliot Elliot could easily leave next year. You need to bring in the next guy now. Give him a year with Elliot and then take over.
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tundra1
Heisman
Wondering how you know Samuel isn't a workhorse, given how highly the coaching staff seems to regard him.
You also didn't mention names like P Campbell, G Hill, and (hopefully) D McCall. The pipeline isn't as empty as you make it out to be. I certainly wouldn't mind having one more stud RB, don't get me wrong--but it's not like they'll be running out complete stiffs if we miss out on Harris.
Oh, and I forgot to mention--those Urban Meyer Florida offenses seemed to work OK...and how many 1000 yd rushers did they have?
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I wouldn't say that necessarily. Each of Meyers' three seasons here, he's had a bell cow back; Hyde in '11-'12, and Zeke is emerging as that this year. I tend to think that's how he prefers it. Zeke is only a sophomore, so we have him at least through next year. Dunn also has sophomore eligibility, so he could be "the guy" in '15 if Zeke was to turn pro after his Junior year. If Harris ends up here, you'd have to think he's in the mix as well. And don't forget, they seem to be back in on Weber as well.
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I don't believe Urban had or needed a workhorse when he was at UF, and our offense is quite similar. And I think he did alright there...
A workhorse isn't needed, as we have a large number of players that will get carries and get touches. Harris is a luxury, IMO.
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No matter how good the running backs are, if there is nowhere to run they are going to be average. It starts with the offensive line. The combination of the two would be great.
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Wham
All-American
The guys you mention are 2016. They would be coming in as Elliot leaves. No overlap. Samuel does not strike me like he can take a lot of beating every game. The tough yards need a special guy that will get them for you most of the time even with average blocking. Remember the twisting of Carlos Hyde? Thing how bad the score would have been against msu if it was not for him. Some of florida offenses were terrible, but they had great defenses. No comment on ours. When Tebow took over, he was the workhorse. Yes we probably will be ok without harris, but we also could Be average. I still think our coaches know we need someone like harris, and they are not sold on weber or scott to be that guy.
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buckeye4ever21
Heisman
Samuel is pretty well put together and he can defintely be the the primary running back in the offense. Up until his injury Elliot and Samuel had same amount of carries through 3 games. That speaks volumes about his work ethic and his top end speed. Jamal Charles and Lesean MCcoy weren't big backs but carried the work load. What helps Samuel is that he should avoid a lot of the big hits that a bruiser would take. All talk about Samuel aside, Harris is the answer we need for our 3rd and short situations. Landing Harris would give us the perfect storm at RB in the nation with potentially the most complete RB in Elliot, best speed back in Samuel and best power back in Harris. I mean looking across the nation there aren't a whole lot of RBs that are better than the 3 of those guys (Gurley, Gordon and Yeldon). It's crazy to think that we are one of only 11 teams yet to break off a 30 yd run or more. I've been waiting to see Samuel in the open field because I think he's the fastest Buckeye. Harris would be in the mix right away because he's already college ready.
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You're talking about OSU not having a goal line RB threat like Brionte Dunn has been left for dead. We haven't had enough time to get him carries but coaches raved about him in camp, and he could easily take up Rod Smiths goal line role. And its funny that one (marvelous) year with Hyde as a workhorse RB skews so many peoples thoughts of this offense. From day 1, Herman and Meyer said they want to spread the ball out and move down field on mismatches. Carlos Hyde came along at the right time, when our offense had no identity and we were just run, run, Carlos, ask Braxton to make something happen with his legs or launch a prayer down field. This years offense is what Herman and Meyer wanted, IMO. And it shows we don't need a workhorse, as well use a stable of RBs depending on the situation. And EzE is the main RB weapon, with Rod as goal line and short yardage and Samuel a change of pace. Harris' role in this offense is TBD as he's not a member of the team. We can't state what it'd be playing sub par competition in KY. Rod Smith was supposed to come in here and be a do it all back, and had to find a niche, Hyde was the only RB able to do everything, and very few have as much talent, and there's nothing wrong with that. But Harris, IMO wouldn't be a workhorse here, he'd be a weapon and the staff would figure out what type of weapon once he got to campus. And the fact that the staff is still having Weber come in for a visit and has even offered another RB, shows that they're quite comfortable pursuing other RBs.
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