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RB Antonio Pittman (Official Thread)

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12/19/05

Pittman grounded in success

Monday, December 19, 2005

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]åçBy Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]




COLUMBUS - When the playbook opened to the chapter on the spread offense, Antonio Pittman felt like someone smacked him across the face.
Ohio State’s football team running the spread offense? The Buckeye sophomore made a commitment to himself and his offensive line he would gain 1,000 yards.

That was a fairly lofty goal for a team that had not produced a 1,000-yard runner since Maurice Clarett ran for 1,237 in 2002.

Pittman has 1,195 going into the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame.

“It had to get done,” Pittman said. “The spread worked, but we had no choice but to go to it because we didn’t have a running game last year.”

It probably is no coincidence that Ohio State is ranked No. 5 and playing in a BCS game with a 1,000-yard back. As a team, the Buckeyes have more than 2,000 yards on the ground, about 300 more than last year.

The big difference, though, is in rushing touchdowns. A year ago, they reached the end zone on the ground just 11 times.

Ohio State has 21 rushing touchdowns this year, with 11 coming from quarterback Troy Smith, who is second on the team with 545 rushing yards.

“We had to get a running game back,” Pittman said. “It was very important.

People were saying, ‘Ohio State doesn’t have a running game.’ That was an embarrassment to the program. Everybody was saying we were one dimensional. We were going to the spread offense, and we can’t run the ball. We were forced to pass it. I took that personal.”

As did the offensive linemen.

All five starters returned from last year. Perhaps the biggest improvement came from right guard T.J. Downing. Along with center Nick Mangold and left guard Rob Sims, the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder from GlenOak High School has allowed the Buckeyes to run inside with confidence.

“We knew we’d be able to pass the ball coming into the season,” Downing said. “We didn’t know what would shake out with the running game. ... When (Pittman) came out and ran the way he did, it boosted our confidence.”

Pittman ran for 100 yards on just 14 carries in the opener against Miami (Ohio). He was held to less than 100 the next two weeks against Texas and San Diego State as the Buckeyes offense was out of sync.

It was then Smith returned to the starting lineup and worked his way back.

In the Big Ten opener against Iowa, Pittman was dominant. He finished with 171 yards on 28 carries. Pittman lit up the Hawkeyes with three runs of 20 yards or more.

Ohio State’s ground game was back. Woody could rest peacefully.

“Now, when we come to the sideline and the coaches ask what we want them to call, we tell them, ‘Hey, let’s run between the tackles every play,’” Downing said. “We know we can control the line of scrimmage against anyone we play.

“That’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had in my life. When you’re seeing All-Americans on the defensive line, and we’re pushing them around and making holes. And Antonio sees them so well. He makes us look a lot better than we are. When he does well, it lifts us to another level.”

The Buckeyes will need Smith and Pittman to run well against Notre Dame. The Irish defense is ranked 25th in the country against the run at 119 yards per game. Just three running backs have gone for more than 100 in games this season. One was Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush with 160.

Pittman already has surpassed his preseason goal, but he knows there is one more good defense yet to face.

“I haven’t reflected on this season, because this season isn’t over,” Pittman said. “I know Notre Dame doesn’t give up many big runs. After one more game, I’ll let you know what kind of season it was.” Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected].
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osugrad21 said:
Right now, imo, Biddle is the best writer on Scout. I plan on passing that title to Greg Powers in the future though :)
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Yeah I totally agree with you. Biddle's articles are very well written and thought out. I always liked Gregs articles on here and he is going to have a nice career with Scout.

Now back to Pittman and thinking about him running over Domers and being paired with the Wells pair next year.
 
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