RB Antonio Pittman (Official Thread)

[Best Buckeye]

SI Sucks

Lean and Mean

 

[OSUBuckeye4Life]

SI

Antonio is rated as the 11th best RB in the nation.

Top 10% of all starting RB's in Division 1 as a Junior isn't so bad.......

 

[SanAntonioBuck]

Top 10% of all starting RB's in Division 1 as a Junior isn't so bad.......

He'll show them that's he should be in the Top 5 in 2007.

 

[Bestbuck36]

I'd probably put him around 8th right now. He could easily be top 5 next year and the talent pool is very deep.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

OHIO STATE FOOTBALL
Quiet, an achievement possible for Pittman


Saturday, October 28, 2006

Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus- By the end of his Ohio State career, Antonio Pittman should be sandwiched by the two greatest running backs in modern Ohio State history, with Archie Griffin ahead of him on the Buckeyes' all-time rushing list and Eddie George right behind him.
"That would probably be the quietest top-three rusher in Ohio State history," Pittman said. "I've been around some good players who deserve every bit of credit that they get, but it will be the quietest top-three rusher."
Pittman has a plan to change that, so he can hang with 1995 Heisman Trophy winner George and with Griffin, the Heisman winner in 1974 and 1975:
He'll get his own.
"I want to win a Heisman Trophy," the Buchtel High grad said. "That's the ultimate goal, to bring one to Akron. That was my big thing on coming here, and that's something I always dreamed about winning. I'm chasing for it, and I need one."
"That sounds good to me," OSU running backs coach Dick Tressel said. "That'd be fun. I'm all for it. Go Pitt."
To do that, Pittman, a junior, will need to come back to Columbus next season, because Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith has a death grip on this year's Heisman. Pittman said he's positive he will return, and that should be good news for Buckeyes fans, since Smith is a senior and receiver Ted Ginn Jr., who would be a pretty fair 2007 Heisman candidate himself, spoke this week about how difficult it will be to play without Smith.
"It's something special that we have together, and it's going to be hard to try to go somewhere and start playing with another guy that you haven't played with for three years," Ginn said.
Asked if that would effect his decision to turn pro, Ginn said, "That's hard to say," but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Ginn leave Columbus with Smith.
It would not have been a complete shock to see Pittman leave as well, since super recruit Chris Wells will be a sophomore next season and might grab a bigger chunk of the rushing carries.
"Competition will not influence my decision, not at all," Pittman said. "What we want to do is be the best one-two punch in the nation."
With the way he's played, Pittman has no reason to fear anyone. With 2,109 rushing yards the past two seasons, Pittman ranks sixth, trailing only Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe (2,993 yards), Rutgers' Ray Rice (2,244), West Virginia's Steve Slaton (2,187), Cal's Marshawn Lynch (2,153) and Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton (2,133).
It was against Minnesota last season that Pittman scored his first touchdown in the season's eighth game, busting a 67-yard run up the middle. That play started a streak of 12 straight games with a touchdown, a streak that ended last week against Indiana. After Pittman took merciless ribbing about his scoring drought from his teammates last year, it was coach Jim Tressel who informed Pittman of his streak this year and tried to keep it alive against the Hoosiers.
"We said, Don't worry, when we get down there, if it gets in the goal-line area, we'll give you another chance to keep your streak alive,' " Tressel said.
Wells ended that plan with a 12-yard touchdown run with 7:04 left in the fourth quarter, just as Pittman was preparing to come back in the game.
"Tragedy," Pittman said, laughing. "Nah, I'll get another one going. I wasn't mad about that."
He could laugh because he already knows his teammates and his coaches trust him in those spots. Last season, Smith led the Buckeyes with 11 rushing touchdowns while Pittman finished with seven. The quarterback scored on a lot of option plays where he chose to keep the ball rather than give it up. This season, Smith hasn't scored at all on the ground, and Pittman has eight touchdowns.
"I think they've got lot more confidence in me," Pittman said. "I hope so."
While Pittman has shown the speed to get outside, often bouncing out inside runs, his preference is to go between the tackles. He bounces so well only because he's working with the offensive line more effectively this season and getting a better read on where holes are, or aren't. While he might be taking a circuitous route to his place among the best backs in Ohio State history, his preference, on the field and off, is a more direct path.
"If he could pick out a play called for him," Dick Tressel said, "it would be the one straight to the goal line."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

Archie, then Antonio?


Saturday, October 28, 2006


If Ohio State junior Antonio Pittman returns for his senior season and puts up similar numbers to what he has done so far, he should wind up as the second-best back, at least statistically, in Ohio State history.
Projections for Pittman were determined by taking his stats so far and assuming his averages from this season for the remaining 18 games in his career - four and a bowl game this year and 12 and a bowl game next year:

Yards

Archie Griffin 5,589
Pittman projected 4,239
Eddie George 3,768
Tim Spencer 3,553
Keith Byars 3,200
Pepe Pearson 3,121
Pittman now 2,490

Carries

Archie Griffin 924
Pittman projected 776
Eddie George 683
Pepe Pearson 659
Tim Spencer 644
Keith Byars 619
Pittman now 457

Rushing touchdowns

Pete Johnson 56
Keith Byars 46
Eddie George 44
Tim Spencer 36
Harold Henson 36
Pittman projected 34
Pittman now 16

100-yard games

Archie Griffin 34
Pittman projected 24
Eddie George 20
Keith Byars 17
Tim Spencer 13
Pepe Pearson 13
Jim Otis 13
Pittman now 13

- Doug Lesmerises

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Pittman makes most of carries

Running back feels he had season's best game: rushing, receiving, blocking

By Sheldon Ocker

COLUMBUS - He's like the ace of the rotation whose manager has placed him on a pitch limit.
Antonio Pittman is Ohio State's leading rusher. If he passes up the siren song of the NFL next season, he can become the second-leading rusher in Buckeye history, with more yards than such legendary predecessors as Eddie George, Tim Spencer, Keith Byars and Jim Otis.
Only one OSU running back is beyond the reach of Pittman: two-time Heisman Trophy-winner Archie Griffin, who finished his four-year collegiate career with 5,589 yards.
Pittman declared his Heisman aspirations in last week's Akron Beacon Journal, declaring that his fondest wish is to bring back the trophy and station it in a place of honor at his alma mater, Buchtel High School.
Local boy, grown into a man, already has made good, whether or not the Heisman ends up on Copley Road. It became obvious sometime around the middle of the 2005 season that Pittman had the talent to be the featured back at Ohio State.
Even so, to become the all-time No. 2 at a school that has nurtured several world-class runners, Pittman needed opportunity. And, yes, he has gotten it, but he sure hasn't been pushed to the limit.
In Saturday's 44-0 win over Minnesota, Pittman went about his usual task in workmanlike fashion, rushing for 116 yards on 21 carries, not 28 carries or 33 carries. This season, Pittman is averaging only 18 carries (and 99.4 yards) a game.
As everyone who follows football knows, running backs love to hurl their bodies over and around giant defensive linemen and linebackers with malice in their hearts. The more times the merrier. Allegedly, as the carries mount, a back's timing, rhythm and adrenaline increase his efficiency.
So Pittman must hate being held back, right? Maybe, but he is nothing if not the good soldier, a team player willing to share a scarce commodity with other talented runners: Chris Wells, also of Akron, and Maurice Wells.
``I just take it in stride,'' Pittman said. ``If I get 10 or 15 carries, I try to make the most of every time I touch the ball.''
Pittman averaged more carries (20) a year ago, but the personnel situation at Ohio State was different. ``Last year, I was the only back we had,'' he said.
A reporter asked Pittman whether he thinks he is underused this year. He began to smile, spoke no words for a few seconds, then said, ``No, no, that's not right.''
But Pittman conceded that in his perfect world, things would be different. ``The dream of every running back is to carry the ball every time there's a run,'' he said. ``But a lot of things factor into that not happening.''
Not only did Pittman gain more than 100 yards on the ground Saturday, but he also caught two passes for 49 yards. This season, Pittman has caught only eight passes.
``This was probably my best game all year,'' he said. ``I felt like I had a complete game: running, catching passes and pass blocking.''
Pittman believes climbing into second place on Ohio State's all-time rushing list is worth another year in school. So is the prospect of making a run at the Heisman Trophy and staying on track to graduate.
But what would it take to pass the current No. 2, George, who ended his career with 3,668 yards? Pittman has accumulated 2,607 career rushing yards. If he continues at his current pace, he will begin the 2007 season with 3,005.
Barring injury, Pittman would be almost a lock to pass George, who averaged 5.4 yards, exactly the same as Pittman.
``Coming back here and being a leader is something I want to do,'' Pittman said. ``I have a chance to be the second-leading rusher, and the way I came in here, nobody expected me to have the (past) two years I've had.''
But nothing is set in stone. There are what-ifs to muddy the waters. What if Pittman learns that the NFL's scouting gurus consider him a certain first-round draft pick? Even coach Jim Tressel has said that it is too much to expect one of his players to pass up that kind of opportunity.
Pittman was asked exactly that question.
``That's not a decision I would make now,'' he said. ``I would want to talk to my family, to coach Tressel and my running-back coach, Doc Tressel. I'd want to talk to everybody.''
That probably includes some of the folks back at Buchtel.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

COMMENTARY
Pittman?s numbers put him on par with OSU?s greatest

Sunday, October 29, 2006

BOB HUNTER

Antonio Pittman tries to elude Minnesota?s Mario Reese (48) and Jamal Harris.

In another time on another team, Antonio Pittman probably would be the man. Not now. At a school where "3 yards and a cloud of dust" became the preferred method of football execution, the Ohio State running back routinely rushes for 100-plus yards per game and gets lost in the bright lights of a dazzling passing attack.
Probably never has a Buckeyes rusher this good been so, well, underappreciated.
"He?s not underappreciated by me, that?s for sure," offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said. "Nobody who?s ever talked to me about him would say that. When people were talking about who was going to be the starting tailback at the beginning of the year, I told them they were nuts and I would tell them the same thing now."
That?s really the point. Pittman rushed for 1,331 yards last year as a sophomore, and reporters and fans all wanted to know whether he would be able to start ahead of incoming freshman Chris "Beanie" Wells. While that had a lot to do with Wells? recruiting stature, it screams that Pittman?s talents have largely gone unrecognized.
The Akron Buchtel grad averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season. After his 21-carry, 116-yard rushing performance in the Buckeyes? 44-0 win over Minnesota yesterday ? that averages out to 5.5 per carry, by the way ? he has 894 yards on 163 carries for the season.
His average this season? You guessed it: 5.5.
When you consider that Eddie George averaged 5.5 yards per carry in his career and that Archie Griffin averaged 5.5 per carry in 1975 when he won his second Heisman Trophy, it?s obvious that production isn?t Pittman?s problem.
So what is? Troy Smith, for one thing. The OSU quarterback has been so good, creating highlight-reel plays every week, that Pittman?s performances often get lost in Smith?s shadows.
If you flip through the record books, it also doesn?t take long to discover that Pittman doesn?t carry the ball as often as his big-name predecessors.
Keith Byars lugged the ball 28 times per game in 1984. George toted it 25 times per game in 1995. Griffin ran it 21 times per game in 1974 and 22 per game in 1975.
Pittman is averaging 18 carries this season, down two carries from a year ago. It?s understandable ? Wells is taking some of the carries that Pittman got last year and the OSU offense has so many weapons that it?s hard for one back to pile up many yards ? but it contributes to the false perception that Pittman isn?t one of college football?s best players.
To his credit, he refuses to whine about his lack of carries, even though it?s obvious that he would like to have more.
"As a running back, you dream of carrying the ball just about every time," he said. "But I know that?s not possible. With the hits we take and you might break a long one and you have to come out ? there?s a lot of things that factor into that not happening. Getting the ball just 16 to 20 times is good to a running back, if it?s productive."
It has been productive and the Buckeyes have been winning; it?s difficult to quibble with the team?s offensive formula when it is ranked No. 1.
But it is too bad that Pittman doesn?t get the attention he might receive if he were wearing an Ohio State uniform at another point in time.
"We?re fortunate that we have some other guys who are pretty good players and becoming better players and (Pittman) doesn?t have to play the whole game," Bollman said. "That?s part of the whole thing on offense. We have as many people as we can who are capable of handling the ball. There is only one ball, and everybody?s got to have the right attitude of making sacrifices."
Pittman, it would seem, knows all about that. He said this week that he likely would come back next year, in part because he would like to win the Heisman Trophy. An 18carry average this year probably won?t help him with that, but maybe it should.
Shouldn?t being a model teammate count for something when voting is conducted for the Heisman?
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
[email protected]

 

[Best Buckeye]

I believe that Pitt would be getting 25 carries pg in any other team. He just happens to be on a team where everyone is a weapon.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

OSU NOTES
Pittman leads OSU's punishing run game


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Sunday, October 29, 2006


COLUMBUS ? The Ohio Stadium grounds crew has been getting more bad ink than Anna Nicole Smith, but at least one player gave the overworked outfit some positive reviews.
"The field was all right," Ohio State tailback Antonio Pittman said. "It held up a lot better than we expected. They put the tarp on early, and it didn't soak up much water."
The turf already has a worn appearance after being installed just last month, but Pittman looked as if he were running on prime real estate.
The junior rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, giving him 894 yards and 10 TDs this season. He also had two receptions for 47 yards.
"I feel I had a complete game running the ball, receiving and picking up pass blocks," he said. "I think that was my best game receiving since I've been here."
The Buckeyes unveiled a misdirection screen pass for the first time this season ? Troy Smith rolling right and throwing across the field to Pittman, who gained 30 yards.
But on a cold, blustery day, the Buckeyes intended to bludgeon Minnesota with their rushing attack, and the potent duo of Pittman and freshman Chris Wells produced.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Wells had 90 yards and one TD on 15 carries (with one fumble). And the Buckeyes churned out 266 of their 484 total yards on the ground.
With road games at Illinois and Northwestern before the Michigan clash Nov. 18, Pittman expects a heavy workload the rest of the season.
"We know it's going to be cold in Chicago, and we're going there two weeks in a row," he said. "And coming back home for Michigan, the weather could be terrible. Hopefully, from here on out, we get our number called a lot."
Laurinaitis leads defense
The Buckeyes fumbled twice in Minnesota territory, but the defense didn't flinch.
The Gophers, who were missing their starting tight end because of an injury and had a couple of dinged-up linemen ? managed just 182 total yards. And they couldn't score after getting the ball at the OSU 38- and 36-yard lines after turnovers.
"I don't think we panic very much," said sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis, who had a team-high 11 tackles. "We look forward to going out there. We like having our backs against the wall. We've had games when we've been a bend-but-don't-break defense. We just said, 'We've already bent, let's not break.' "
Denlinger fills in
With starting defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock out, Todd Denlinger, a redshirt freshman from Troy, appeared for about 20 snaps.
"I thought we got some good reps out of Todd," defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. "He's getting better and better."
Although Denlinger didn't register a tackle, he willingly took on double-teams to help the rest of the unit.
"I think I had a solid game," he said. "I had a few good hits. No real tackles, but our job is to free up the linebackers. We got a shutout. That's all you can ask."
Buckeye bits
? Freshman receiver Ray Small suffered a concussion late in the first half after being hit by Minnesota defensive back Dominic Jones.
? The Buckeyes' helmets were adorned with the initials of Andrew Polakowski, an 18-year-old OSU student from Erie, Pa., who was killed in an elevator accident on campus Oct. 20.
? Buckeye recruit Donnie Evege, a senior defensive back from Wayne High School, attended the game with his father and middle-school coach and said he intends to graduate early and enroll in time for spring practice.
? Aaron Pettrey had a low extra-point attempt blocked, but he connected on a 42-yard field goal earlier for a 10-0 lead. He's made seven of his last eight field-goal tries after missing his first two this season.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or
[email protected].
Kyle Nagel contributed to this report.

 

[Best Buckeye]

awesome

scary

 

[jwinslow]

OSU Picture Archive

COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 28: Antonio Pittman #25 of Ohio State Buckeyes carries the ball toward the endzone against Minnesota Golden Gophers on his way to scoring a touchdown for a 30-0 lead during the third quarter at Ohio Stadium on October 28, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won 44-0. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

 

[scarletngray]

Great Pics!

Hopefully this is the week that Pitt goes over 1,000 yds for the season.

:osu:

 

[osugrad21]

Link


Workload works against OSU tailback
By JON SPENCER
For The Advocate

Antonio Pittman says he's going to return to Ohio State next year to try and win the school's eighth Heisman Trophy. (The engravers are getting ready to dot the "i" and cross the "t's" on the seventh, which Troy Smith will bring home next month).
While you have to admire Pittman's spunk, his numbers suggest he has a better chance of running for mayor in his hometown of Akron -- and winning in a landslide over favorite son LeBron.
Spare me the nasty e-mails. Pittman is a good back, probably one of the best in the nation. In fact, the argument no longer can be made he's underappreciated.
Underutilized, maybe. Underappreciated, no.That gets to the crux of Pittman's dilemma.
We're used to our Heisman-winning running backs carrying the load -- or, in Ron Dayne's case, nearly 300 pounds on his frame and the load.
Dayne averaged 28 carries for Wisconsin in winning the 1999 Heisman. Other workhorse winners and their averages have included Texas' Ricky Williams (31) in 1998, Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders (31) in 1988, Georgia's Herschel Walker (30) in 1982, USC's Charles White (34) in 1979, Oklahoma's Steve Owens (36) in 1969 and USC's O.J. Simpson (32) in 1968.
In comparison, Pittman is a relative lightweight, checking in at 18 carries per game for the talent-rich Buckeyes, down two carries from a year ago.
Unless Chris Wells goes on the DL because of an allergic reaction to stickum or Maurice Wells strangles himself with his dreadlocks, Pittman's situation isn't going to change. So forget the requisite PlayStation numbers and trip to New York.
It's the curse of playing for a program adding another floor to its practice facility to house all the talent.
"We have the motto 'Just one ball,'" guard T.J. Downing said. "I'm sure some guys would like the ball more, but we have so many weapons we have to spread it out. Everybody knows that's only going to hurt defenses in the long run."
Ohio State fans can live with Pittman's rushing totals -- 1,331 yards last year and 894 so far this season. More importantly, so can Pittman. He provides ammo without attitude, one of the reasons he's so respected.
"There's a lot of selfless individuals because there's only one football, and we can't get around to everybody," Downing said. "It could be very easy for guys to complain about wanting the ball more, but when guys are in the locker room they're not doing it. It's very reassuring that we don't have to deal with that extra problem.
"You start dealing with that, it's a cancer that will eat you from the inside out. It's the kind of thing that costs teams championships."
Barring an injury or Pittman reversing his field and entering the NFL draft a year early, the junior tailback likely will leave OSU as the school's second-leading rusher -- sandwiched between Heisman winners Archie Griffin (1974-75) and Eddie George (1995). No trophy, just immortality.
A national championship or two would cure any Heisman hangover as well.
Asked how many carries he would give himself if he were calling plays, Pittman grinned wryly and said, "That would never happen."
How about a 200-yard afternoon and another blowout Saturday?

 

[gracelhink]

Anyione else notice the ticker during the ESPN WVA-Louisville game broadcast? Attached to the rankings of #1 BCS OSU, was the comparison of Pittman's rushing total after 10 games last year, 1100+ yards and through 10 games this year, 893 yards.