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RB Antonio Pittman (Official Thread)

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Well let's assume they run on average 65 plays per game next year... my guess is that it will be closer to 70, but I will be conservative. In an ideal world I would like to see Troy drop back to pass it 30 times. Hopefully he actually does pass it 25 times and completes it around 16 times (64% completion percentage). With about 15 yards per completion (he averaged just over that this year) that should be roughly 240 passing yards per game. With the 5 times he didn't pass it, hopefully he is scrambling for positive yardage... let's say he gets his average which means he gets roughly 22 yards (22.5 actually) scrambling out of those busted plays when he doesn't throw it.
So now with the rest of the 35 plays, Troy will (and should) get about 5 of those on desgined QB runs (maybe the option we like to run right side?). Again, assuming he gets his average that is another 23 yards. So now there are 30 carries for everyone else. Ted Ginn Jr. ought to get 4 carries... I don't care how you get him the ball, but give the man 4 carries per game. So now there are 26 carries left. Give Pittman the ball 20 times... with his average that puts him at about 110 yards. Now give the remaining 6 carries to Chris Wells.
So we have 240 yards passing, 45 yards rushing by Troy and 110 yards rushing by Pittman for 395 yards. But Chris Wells got the ball 6 times and Ginn 4. Let's say that Wells averages 4.5 yards per carry... decent but not great (he is only a freshman remember). So add 27 yards on to the total to get 422 yards. Now for Ginn... what will he do with 4 carries? That is the wild card really. Let's say that on a bad day he gets 8 yards off of those 4 carries... so we finished with 430 yards... a very good day for the offense. Let's say that on a great day he busts those bad boys for runs of 58, 30, 8, and 12 yards... that's 108 yards. That's 530 yards of offense and a stellar day of offensive production.

Anyway, that is sort of the breakdown I would like to see to start the year off. :)

GO BUCKS!!! ~BB~
 
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BUCKEYE_Bomber said:
Well let's assume they run on average 65 plays per game next year... my guess is that it will be closer to 70, but I will be conservative. In an ideal world I would like to see Troy drop back to pass it 30 times. Hopefully he actually does pass it 25 times and completes it around 16 times (64% completion percentage). With about 15 yards per completion (he averaged just over that this year) that should be roughly 240 passing yards per game. With the 5 times he didn't pass it, hopefully he is scrambling for positive yardage... let's say he gets his average which means he gets roughly 22 yards (22.5 actually) scrambling out of those busted plays when he doesn't throw it.
So now with the rest of the 35 plays, Troy will (and should) get about 5 of those on desgined QB runs (maybe the option we like to run right side?). Again, assuming he gets his average that is another 23 yards. So now there are 30 carries for everyone else. Ted Ginn Jr. ought to get 4 carries... I don't care how you get him the ball, but give the man 4 carries per game. So now there are 26 carries left. Give Pittman the ball 20 times... with his average that puts him at about 110 yards. Now give the remaining 6 carries to Chris Wells.
So we have 240 yards passing, 45 yards rushing by Troy and 110 yards rushing by Pittman for 395 yards. But Chris Wells got the ball 6 times and Ginn 4. Let's say that Wells averages 4.5 yards per carry... decent but not great (he is only a freshman remember). So add 27 yards on to the total to get 422 yards. Now for Ginn... what will he do with 4 carries? That is the wild card really. Let's say that on a bad day he gets 8 yards off of those 4 carries... so we finished with 430 yards... a very good day for the offense. Let's say that on a great day he busts those bad boys for runs of 58, 30, 8, and 12 yards... that's 108 yards. That's 530 yards of offense and a stellar day of offensive production.

Anyway, that is sort of the breakdown I would like to see to start the year off. :)

GO BUCKS!!! ~BB~
Click to expand...

Good God Almighty!! Even without Holmes........Pittman/Wells/Wells/Smith and our TE's (Frost/Nicol),; Dukes hopefully stepping into his time- Ginn becoming a more accomplishe route runner; what a juggernaut!
 
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This is what I like to see...

ABJ

1/12

SETTING THE PACE

OSU's Pittman preparing for challenge from Wells

By Marla Ridenour

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content --> Antonio Pittman can never rest.
While winter conditioning doesn't begin until mid-February, Ohio State's sophomore tailback from Buchtel is already working out on his own.
A Parade All-American, Garfield's Chris Wells, will enroll this spring to challenge him. When Wells was named Most Valuable Player of last weekend's high school All-American Bowl in San Antonio, recruiting analyst Tom Lemming deemed Wells the No. 1 running back prospect in the nation and said during the broadcast he would be the Buckeyes' starter next season.
Asked about that prediction, Pittman chuckled to himself and said: ``I can't comment on what announcers say. That's his opinion.''
Wells won't officially sign as an Ohio State recruit until national signing day on Feb. 1. But Pittman is well aware he can't slack off after Ohio State completed a 10-2 season with a 34-20 victory over Notre Dame on Jan. 2 in the Fiesta Bowl.
``The fact he's coming is going to be a natural 1-2 punch, two kids from Akron,'' Pittman said of Wells. ``I'm all for it. Still, I've got to work even harder.''
That ``all for it'' notion could change if Pittman is the one coming off the bench to spell Wells. Pittman made a huge leap last season, understanding the film study and dedication required of a starter. He also received a huge boost of confidence in the final two games, beating Michigan with a 3-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds left, then clinching the triumph over Notre Dame with a 60-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining.
``We ran that play in the last practice the night before and I broke it,'' Pittman said of the latter. ``The safety came down, we picked it up right away, and there was a little crack just big enough to squeeze through. Once I got through, I knew I was gone.
``It was just like it was the day before. Everyone blocked beautifully, just like it was drawn up at practice.''
On that dash, fullback Stan White Jr. helped Pittman get the crack he needed at the line, then receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes cleared his way to the end zone. Pittman said he wasn't aware that safety Tom Zbikowski made a valiant chase.
``I was exhausted after that play,'' Pittman said.
Not as winded as former OSU Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, who ran the entire 60 yards down the sideline with Pittman, flanked by former All-American safety Mike Doss. George, now retired after nine NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys, could barely speak afterward to an Ohio reporter.
It was the perfect finish for what could have been a frustrating day for Pittman, who totaled 136 yards on 21 carries. He also caught a 10-yard pass on third-and-9 on OSU's final drive.
``Going in with a month to prepare, we knew it was going to be an exciting game,'' Pittman said. ``We kept running. I'd get three yards, seven, one, then we'd air it out and go deep. When the game was close and it was time to run out the clock, I eventually broke one.''
Pittman admitted he got excited when the Buckeyes began their last possession with 5:27 to go.
``I knew I was going to get a lot of touches,'' he said. ``I prepared to hold onto the ball.''
After managing 381 yards on 73 carries as a freshman playing behind Lydell Ross and Maurice Hall, Pittman finished his sophomore year with 1,331 yards, more than Maurice Clarett's 1,237 during the national championship season of 2002. Pittman also scored all seven of his touchdowns in the final five games, ending his drought with a 67-yarder in the third quarter Oct. 29 at Minnesota that some thought was one of the turning points of the season.
For Pittman, nothing topped the Notre Dame experience.
``It's one of the biggest games I've played so far in college,'' he said. ``I look at that as a stepping stone into next season, the first game of the new year. That's the last impression everyone's going to have of you until the season starts.''
 
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Tom Lemming deemed Wells the No. 1 running back prospect in the nation and said during the broadcast he would be the Buckeyes' starter next season.
Asked about that prediction, Pittman chuckled to himself and said: ``I can't comment on what announcers say. That's his opinion.''
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This quote shows some combination of wisdom beyond his years and/or media relations preparation from JT. But Pittman's handling the situation well so far.
 
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I love the fact that they are already friends, so if Wells is scoring tds why Pittman is putting up the yards there isnt going to be any hard feelings toward the other one.

I also think it will be good b/c Pitt will take Wells under his wing to teach him the ins and outs of being a running back that Pittman struggled at times to pick up his freshmen year.

Also this little thought has been going through my head, but is there a chance that we could have 3 guys rush for over 1000 yards. We will have 13 games next year, and Pittman has already showed that he can rush for a 1000. I think if Wells gets the number of carries many expect him too and also gets some mop up time when we are up big on teams like we showed this past year that we can be, and then Smith has had games of 150 rushing, so if he avg. about 80 a game I think there is a chance. I know it is a slight chance, but you never know.
 
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Nothing new here in regards to Pitt. It looks like under both JT and Doc that Pitt his developing into a great leader as a Junior and then move towards the captain spot as a Senior. Pitt and Wells are going to be an unbelievable 1 - 2 but Pitt will be the man when the game is on the line.

I really love what Pitt did this year. I have always been in the camp that Pitt was going to be a very good to great back but there were a ton of those out there that thought he was nothing special...that he had little vision, toughness, and was not a big play back. I just love how far he has came this year that most all fans do not expect him to get beat out by the undisputed #1 back in the country!!
 
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There is no way that any tOSU fan can not be excited about our awesome backfield for the upcoming years. Pittman is very much one of the most underrated players in the nation, which is fine with me because I know he gets the job done very nicely. With Wells coming in, at the least we have a very solid goal-line back, which we have shown that we could make good use of from this past season. Not to knock on Troy Smith, but himself and a few others have made bad decisions around the goal line resulting in a turnover (or a pretty sure TD into a field goal) a few times this year, and with a big running back like Chris Wells, we can have Pittman drive the ball down the field and Wells pound it in, starting to take carries at maybe even up to the 15 or 20 yard line because he would be a solid guy to get the job done even in his freshman year.
 
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I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I hope Wells doesn't steal too many carries away from Pittman. After what Pittman did for us this year, which is giving us a running game, he deserves his 20-25 carries a game and I think he should get first dibs at a touchdown if we're inside the 10 yard line. Hopefully we'll be good enough to give Wells plenty of garbage time though. The only time I want to see Wells enter in for Pittman is if Pittman isn't doing anything and we need a change of pace. Here's to Pittman getting 1,500 yards and 10+ touchdowns and 1st team all Big-10 honors!:cheers:
 
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BuckeyeKid789 said:
I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I hope Wells doesn't steal too many carries away from Pittman. After what Pittman did for us this year, which is giving us a running game, he deserves his 20-25 carries a game and I think he should get the first dibs at a touchdown if we're inside the 10 yard line. Hopefully we'll be good enough to give Wells plenty of garbage time though. The only time I want to see Wells enter in for Pittman is if Pittman isn't doing anything and we need a change of pace. Here's to Pittman getting 1,500 yards and 10+ touchdowns and 1st team all Big-10 honors!:cheers:
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He has certainly earned it. Also, JT is an EXTREMELY loyal coach. I don't expect a big dopoff from Antonio next year, but if CWells is as impressive as he looks to be, he will find PT as well.
 
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i like the idea of the physical wells (thunder) beating defenses up and then the speed (lightning) of pittman finishes them off. pittman should still get the majority of carries when the game is on the line but definitely got to use wells to soften up the middle.
 
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southsidebuck said:
i like the idea of the physical wells (thunder) beating defenses up and then the speed (lightning) of pittman finishes them off. pittman should still get the majority of carries when the game is on the line but definitely got to use wells to soften up the middle.
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Wells is as fast, if not faster, than Pittman so the "thunder and lightning" isn't the best analogy. I think Pittman will still be the starter with C Wells rotating in often to keep both fresh. Pittman has the experience and is a bit shiftier. Between the two, and the occasional influx of M Wells and/or Haw, getting Tressel's target of 200 yards rushing per game should not be a huge challenge.
 
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