Mansfield
4/25
Wells a knockout with teammates
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> COLUMBUS -- His nickname is "Beanie," but he's no baby.
"Chris Wells is a big boy ... he's a man," Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis said of the 6-2, 225-pound freshman running back who broke tackles and, maybe, a record for fitting in the fastest with his performance in Saturday's spring game.
After Wells rushed for a game-high 48 yards on 11 carries and barged through two defenders on a nine-yard reception for the victorious Scarlet, Laurinaitis sounded like a guy who would rather go mano-a-mano with one of those scary dudes his pro rasslin' father used to bring home.
"When you hit Chris, it's a hard deal," Laurinaitis said. "We're taught in the open field to sink your hips and give (ballcarriers) your chest because a guy can run you over. Well, Chris can run around you, but if he wants to run you over, he's going to run you over. He's not just going to lean into you; he's going to try to knock you out. I think he'll be a great back here."Whether it's sooner or later depends largely on incumbent Antonio Pittman. He sat out the spring game nursing a hamstring injury, but is clearly the No. 1 tailback after rushing for 1,331 yards last season as a sophomore.
That's fine with Wells, who just a few weeks ago was still walking the hallways at Akron Garfield.
"Pitt has always treated me like he's a big brother," Wells said of his fellow Akronite. "He's always comfortable with me and teaching me along the way.
"I feel confident and comfortable as far as the plays, but there's still room for a lot of improvement. There's a lot of great athletes out there. It's the best going against the best all the time."
Running backs coach Dick Tressel didn't back off this spring on his signing day comment that Wells reminded him of football immortal Jim Brown. Quarterback Troy Smith has also fueled the hype, suggesting Wells could be another "Bus" -- Jerome Bettis without the balding tires.
Easy guys. Buckeye Nation would settle for Wells being the next Maurice Clarett, without a diva's sense of entitlement or the soiled baggage, of course.
"He's a great back and a great guy," strong safety Jamario O'Neal said. "He runs hard. He keeps his legs moving. Most guys on contact just fall down, but he's not going to go down with one hit. You've got to gang-tackle him."
In other words, he's the antithesis of Lydell Ross, a former phenom-in-waiting who turned out to be a one-hit pony.
"My high school coach and my father always told me you don't go down with the first (hit) ... I'm too big for that," Wells said. "They said to roll with the punches. Just take what they give you, and if they give you something else, just take the extra."
At one point in the glorified scrimmage, Wells looked like he was performing the Heimlich on himself.
Maybe it was his trash-gesture way of letting the Gray team know it choked by not picking him in the pre-game draft.
Wells pounded his chest twice and ripped off an 11-yard gain.
"That was to let 'em know I was coming," said Wells, who was picked third in the draft after Eric Haw and namesake Maurice Wells.
Something tells OSU fans that won't be the pecking order behind Pittman come fall.
"I think (enrolling early) is the best thing I could have done football-wise," said Wells of a strategy also followed by Pittman and Clarett. "If I had come in late, I'd be totally lost and probably end up redshirting. It helped me get a feel for the system and learning all the plays.
"Having a football in my hands is the easy part. Learning who to block, where to go, and the check-downs, is the hard part."
In his last high school game, Wells scored three touchdowns en route to MVP honors at the U.S. Army All-America Bowl in January.
That led to a rash prediction by some that he would immediately supplant Pittman as Ohio State's starting tailback.
A time-share between the Akron connection would seem a more realistic scenario.
"What was impressive about Chris (in the spring game) is that he looked like he did all spring -- comfortable, patient, a big guy with the ability to accelerate," coach Jim Tressel said. "But he knows we have other good backs and he's going to have to compete."
4/25
Wells a knockout with teammates
<!-- ARTICLE BODYTEXT --> <!--ARTICLE TEXT--> COLUMBUS -- His nickname is "Beanie," but he's no baby.
"Chris Wells is a big boy ... he's a man," Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis said of the 6-2, 225-pound freshman running back who broke tackles and, maybe, a record for fitting in the fastest with his performance in Saturday's spring game.
After Wells rushed for a game-high 48 yards on 11 carries and barged through two defenders on a nine-yard reception for the victorious Scarlet, Laurinaitis sounded like a guy who would rather go mano-a-mano with one of those scary dudes his pro rasslin' father used to bring home.
"When you hit Chris, it's a hard deal," Laurinaitis said. "We're taught in the open field to sink your hips and give (ballcarriers) your chest because a guy can run you over. Well, Chris can run around you, but if he wants to run you over, he's going to run you over. He's not just going to lean into you; he's going to try to knock you out. I think he'll be a great back here."Whether it's sooner or later depends largely on incumbent Antonio Pittman. He sat out the spring game nursing a hamstring injury, but is clearly the No. 1 tailback after rushing for 1,331 yards last season as a sophomore.
That's fine with Wells, who just a few weeks ago was still walking the hallways at Akron Garfield.
"Pitt has always treated me like he's a big brother," Wells said of his fellow Akronite. "He's always comfortable with me and teaching me along the way.
"I feel confident and comfortable as far as the plays, but there's still room for a lot of improvement. There's a lot of great athletes out there. It's the best going against the best all the time."
Running backs coach Dick Tressel didn't back off this spring on his signing day comment that Wells reminded him of football immortal Jim Brown. Quarterback Troy Smith has also fueled the hype, suggesting Wells could be another "Bus" -- Jerome Bettis without the balding tires.
Easy guys. Buckeye Nation would settle for Wells being the next Maurice Clarett, without a diva's sense of entitlement or the soiled baggage, of course.
"He's a great back and a great guy," strong safety Jamario O'Neal said. "He runs hard. He keeps his legs moving. Most guys on contact just fall down, but he's not going to go down with one hit. You've got to gang-tackle him."
In other words, he's the antithesis of Lydell Ross, a former phenom-in-waiting who turned out to be a one-hit pony.
"My high school coach and my father always told me you don't go down with the first (hit) ... I'm too big for that," Wells said. "They said to roll with the punches. Just take what they give you, and if they give you something else, just take the extra."
At one point in the glorified scrimmage, Wells looked like he was performing the Heimlich on himself.
Maybe it was his trash-gesture way of letting the Gray team know it choked by not picking him in the pre-game draft.
Wells pounded his chest twice and ripped off an 11-yard gain.
"That was to let 'em know I was coming," said Wells, who was picked third in the draft after Eric Haw and namesake Maurice Wells.
Something tells OSU fans that won't be the pecking order behind Pittman come fall.
"I think (enrolling early) is the best thing I could have done football-wise," said Wells of a strategy also followed by Pittman and Clarett. "If I had come in late, I'd be totally lost and probably end up redshirting. It helped me get a feel for the system and learning all the plays.
"Having a football in my hands is the easy part. Learning who to block, where to go, and the check-downs, is the hard part."
In his last high school game, Wells scored three touchdowns en route to MVP honors at the U.S. Army All-America Bowl in January.
That led to a rash prediction by some that he would immediately supplant Pittman as Ohio State's starting tailback.
A time-share between the Akron connection would seem a more realistic scenario.
"What was impressive about Chris (in the spring game) is that he looked like he did all spring -- comfortable, patient, a big guy with the ability to accelerate," coach Jim Tressel said. "But he knows we have other good backs and he's going to have to compete."
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