ABJ
8/16
NO BACK BONE TO PICK
Starting tailback job is Pittman's to lose
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
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COLUMBUS - If Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman has been instructed to avoid undue stress after undergoing heart bypass surgery this spring, he might have to make one subject taboo.
A question about when freshman running back Chris Wells will unseat junior Antonio Pittman certainly got Bollman's heart racing.
``People have the audacity to ask me, `Who's going to be the starting tailback?' or, `Is it Pittman's to keep until he loses it?' '' Bollman said last week. ``That's all a bunch of baloney to me. Sure there's competition. Sure there's depth. But Antonio Pittman is the tailback at Ohio State.''
Bollman pointed out that two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin is the only OSU running back to gain more yards as a sophomore than Pittman.
Only four backs have gone over 1,000 yards in their second year, a group that also includes Keith Byars and Vince Workman.
A Buchtel High School product, Pittman is grateful that Bollman has such faith in him.
``That means a lot,'' Pittman said. ``This is a new year. I feel as if I'm coming in here as a freshman, I'm hungry just to hold down my spot. It's up to me to come out and prove myself once again.''
Pittman totaled 1,331 yards last season, racked up seven 100-yard games and scored the game-clinching touchdowns against Michigan (a 3-yarder with 24 seconds left) and Notre Dame (a 60-yarder with 1:46 left despite a hamstring injury). He recorded seven touchdowns, all in the last five games.
The arrival of Wells, a Parade Magazine All-American from Garfield High School, makes some think Pittman could lose his grasp on the position. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, Wells looks like the prototypical Big Ten back. He enrolled in school for the 2006 spring quarter to get a head start learning the Buckeyes' offense.
Asked how he felt about splitting time with Wells, Pittman said, ``I don't even worry about that. If I'm playing my part and everybody else is playing their part, you can't run forever. You can't play every down. You need someone to spell you. As long as it's productive for the whole team, it's going to be all right.''
In fact, Pittman has gone out of his way to help Wells.
``He's from Akron, you've got to take care of him,'' Pittman said.
The feeling seems to be mutual. Wells said he considers Pittman ``like my older brother.''
``I can learn a lot from him about the game and about life,'' Wells said.
Pittman has lofty goals for 2006, and they don't look possible if he's splitting time with Wells. After sitting out spring drills to let his hamstring heal and bulking up to 207 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame, Pittman is aiming for 1,700 yards and at least 15 touchdowns.
Those numbers don't faze Bollman.
``He can say what he wants to,'' Bollman said of Pittman. ``I don't care about that. It's how productive we are as a team. He's got more depth and got more help. He's got some very good ability.''
Coach Jim Tressel said Pittman made big strides last season, and not just from a production standpoint.
``He became more aggressive as a ballcarrier, he became more understanding as a pass protection guy, he became aware of what everyone else was doing in the pass route game,'' Tressel said. ``He can keep growing in those areas. I look for him to take the step he took last year and then some, and that's a lot.''
Wells, who rushed for 2,134 yards and 27 touchdowns as a high school senior and averaged 9.6 yards per carry, was considered by scouting services as the nation's top back. He said he has added five to 10 pounds of muscle in summer conditioning. Perhaps in deference to Pittman, he's keeping his expectations to himself.
``Just to get on the field,'' Wells said. ``Most freshman don't get a chance to get on the field. (My role) is up to the coaches.''
Asked how much Wells will play, Tressel said, ``He had 15 (spring) practices; he made good use of them. We have 29 more in the preseason, almost twice as many, he needs to make good use of them. He's very capable.
``Chris could be a good player, could be a contributor now. Hopefully that will happen.''
Tressel admitted that Wells doesn't fit the physical profile of a freshman.
``He's a lot bigger than a typical 17-year-old,'' Tressel said. ``He's a mature guy physically. I was really impressed with his instincts and vision for a young guy. But perhaps he's always had them. He did not have limitations running the ball of any kind that I saw.
``Now he had limitations as his experience in pass protections and routes. He grew a lot in those areas. I'm anxious to get him out there this preseason.''
Wells said he already has experienced his eye-opening moment in the college game, thanks to sophomore defensive end Lawrence Wilson of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
``In the spring game, Lawrence Wilson bull-rushed me,'' Wells said. ``In high school, you can't chop. That wasn't in my mind for him to chop me.''
Perhaps for reasons like that, Wells is convinced he did the right thing by enrolling early.
``It's like night and day from now to the spring,'' he said. ``I feel like I've picked up a lot more. I just feel more confident.''
