• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

RB Michael Weber (New Jersey Generals)

Tony Alford Worked Hard in 2015 to Get Mike Weber Ready for 2016

15-08-10-FB-0287-DH.jpg


Mike Weber was going to play in 2015. It was a done deal. Even as a true freshman he had shown enough early in his first fall camp that there was going to be a place made for him in the Ohio State offense.

And then a knee injury sidelined him for what was supposed to be about a month. Urban Meyer seemed to have an update every week about how Weber was just a week or two away, but after enough of these updates it became apparent that too much of the season had passed to justify playing the freshman and burning his redshirt.

When something so sure — like seeing the field — had become so distant, it's never unusual for a player to go through some adjustment and disappointment.

Mike Weber was an Army All-American who had just finished a brilliant high school career less than a year ago. He was not the kind of player who was accustomed to sitting and watching everybody else play his game without him.For some, redshirting as a freshman can make a rocky year. OSU running backs coach Tony Alford doesn't think that descriptor would apply to Weber, however.

"I wouldn’t say he had a rocky year," he said recently. "He’s a young guy and every day was a new day for him. I think he matured immensely through the course of the fall. I think it’s hard for a lot of young guys that come in. He wanted to play, he’s a highly-competitive guy, and he wanted to play right away. I know there may have been some initial disappointment, but he also got hurt, so he was also kind of fighting through some injuries as well. And as we progressed through the season we made the decision that we weren’t going to play him."

Weber was finally healthy later on in the year, but the decision had already been made to redshirt him. For a freshman that impressed well enough early on, Weber no doubt had designs on seeing the field in 2015. When that didn't happen, there was obviously disappointment.

Weber and Alford instead used 2015 to get the running back ready for whatever 2016 will hold.

"That’s not an easy pill to swallow when you’ve been playing for your whole life," Alford said. "But he really did, he came along really well in the latter part of the season as far as his physicality. His knee is better, it’s 100%, so he’s fine. He had good bowl practices, he did a really nice job, so we’re looking forward to what’s going to transpire with him as we move forward into the upcoming months."

It was difficult for any Buckeye tailback other than Ezekiel Elliott to get carries last season. Warren Ball and Bri'onte Dunn were the only other true tailbacks to carry the ball last season, and they combined for 24 total carries, compared to 289 for Elliott.

In addition to the injury, the sheer lack of opportunities for carries was another reason why Weber was never given the go ahead to play. Had they needed him, they would have had no issues playing him, but there was never a serious discussion about what would constitute that need.

15-09-09-FB-0438.jpg

.
.
continued
.
.
There was nothing easy about the load that Mike Weber carried in 2015, because there are few things heavier than unmet expectations.

Going through that season, however, has only strengthened him for the competition that lies ahead in 2016

Entire article: http://theozone.net/Ohio-State/Foot...Hard-in-2015-to-Get-Mike-Weber-Ready-for-2016
 
Upvote 0
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2016/04/satellite_camp_ban_impacts_hug.html
Satellite camp ban impacts huge Detroit camp, Ohio State RB Mike Weber sounds off on topic

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Last year's Sound Mind Sound Body camp was 107 miles away from Michigan State, 72 miles away from Michigan and way too close for Ohio State to miss.

The largest instructional camp in the Midwest, Sound Mind Sound Body hosts more than 1,000 prospects every year. Many of those prospects fly from all around the country to be exposed to the hundreds of college coaches walking around.

Sound Mind Sound Body will still happen this year. It's scheduled for June 9-10.

But it will be vastly different.

When the NCAA banned satellite camps on Friday, it also banned college coaches from attending instructional camps like that, effectively changing the entire scope of what that camp meant to so many people.

A former four-star running back from Detroit Cass Tech and current redshirt freshman running back for Ohio State, Mike Weber attended the camp for years to gain exposure.

Weber took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to voice his displeasure for the NCAA's ruling and the impact it has on top rising prospects.

Contd....
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top