Curtis Samuel Ready to Shoulder Whatever Role Comes His Way
Junior H-back Curtis Samuel has just two starts in his career at Ohio State. One of them came at tailback as a true freshman — in front of Ezekiel Elliott, and the other came last year as a receiver.
He was moved to receiver in order to get out of Elliott's shadow and get more playing time. That plan took a hit when Braxton Miller moved to H-back as well. The number of touches that Samuel was supposed to get was reduced dramatically and he only finished with 22 receptions and 17 carries.
He also wasn't helped by a broken foot in Big Ten play which slowed him down quite a bit. Despite these obstacles, does he have any thoughts that he didn't get the ball enough last year?
"I wasn’t really focused on that," he said. "I was just worrying about whenever my number was called to be ready. If last year I’m worried 'when am I going to get in,' 'when am I gonna do this' and 'when am I gonna do that,' and when it’s time for me to go in and I don’t perform, then it just makes me look bad. I really was just worried about when my time comes and Coach gives me that chance, just to go out there and show them what I’ve got."
For the most part Samuel has done just that. He has averaged 6.9 yards per carry in his first two seasons and 11.6 yards per reception. He has a total of 108 career touches, but he might better that number this season alone. Early on while the offense is still finding its identity, he expects to be leaned upon both at running back and receiver and he welcomes the opportunity to help lead the offense in the proper direction.
"I’m one of the older guys on the team," he said. "I’m one of the most experienced in the receiver room. I feel like they’re probably going to lean on me a little bit more just because I’ve got that experience in practice. Coach Meyer knows what he is going to see out of me, and the young guys he doesn’t know what he’s going to see yet. So I feel like that’s the only reason he would do that a little bit early in the season."
Entire article:
http://theozone.net/Ohio-State/Foot...Ready-to-Shoulder-Whatever-Role-Comes-His-Way