OSU INSIDER
Wells' fumbling causes concern
Sunday, November 05, 2006 Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Champaign, Ill.- If freshman running back Chris Wells didn't have a fumbling problem before, he officially has one now. Wells lost his fourth fumble of the season, and his third in the last four games, in Ohio State's 17-10 win over Illinois on Saturday.
He wasn't tackled or switching hands when the ball popped out. It just dropped to the turf at Memorial Stadium with 8:04 to play in the second quarter, and Wells didn't see the field again the rest of the game.
"I don't know exactly what happened," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "We'll have to evaluate. It looked like he made a nice cut and he was going to gain a bunch of yards. And no one was more disappointed than him. The guys were consoling him and working with him, and I said it before - we're going to need Beanie to become the best team we're capable of becoming. At that point in time, I liked Antonio Pittman with his hands on the ball, and we decided to go that way."
That was a different strategy than what Tressel employed before. When Wells fumbled against Michigan State, he was back in almost immediately. When he fumbled against Minnesota, he sat for a while but returned to the game. But the Buckeyes went so far the other way Saturday that Pittman finished with a career-high 32 carries, but gained just 58 yards. And the fumbling must be contagious - Pittman fumbled for the first time this season in the fourth quarter, but the Buckeyes recovered.
Pittman's hands aren't a worry. Wells' head is. Running backs coach Dick Tressel had some quick words with Wells after the fumble before Pittman talked with him, his arm on his back, for several minutes. Then Wells went over to the offensive line, maybe to apologize, and finally sat down on the bench next to quarterback Troy Smith.
"I think he just went to squeeze it and it popped right out," said Pittman, a fellow Akron native who has served as Wells' mentor since he arrived on campus. "It happens. There's nothing you can really do. But you can get down on yourself, because as a running back you don't want to fumble. Especially because he already fumbled a couple of times this year, that can bring you down a little bit. As time goes on, he has to learn to put it behind him and don't worry about it and move on to the next play."
That's hard to do if you don't get a next play. But the Buckeyes might not have another choice.
Back in:
Senior defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock did not start, but he played his typical role after sitting out last week's game after suffering a concussion the week before.
"My health is fine," Pitcock said. "It was a minor injury, and we were cautious and kept me out [last week] so it wouldn't become anything major."
Pitcock made two tackles and had one quarterback hurry.
Also:
Illinois linebacker J Leman, the Big Ten's leading tackler, had a season-high 19 tackles Saturday. Linebacker James Laurinaitis led Ohio State with 11 tackles. . . . A fourth-quarter interception by Laurinaitis continued an Ohio State streak. The Buckeyes have at least one interception in every game this season. . . . Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. led Ohio State with five catches but gained just 26 yards. This was the first game this season that Troy Smith did not throw a touchdown pass. . . . Illinois' first score, a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, was set up by a trick play. A pass by receiver DaJuan Warren off a double reverse fooled the Buckeyes, and Brandon Mitchell and Malcolm Jenkins both ran over tight end Jeff Cumberland in the end zone, earning Ohio State a 15-yard pass-interference penalty.
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