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Senior Spotlight – Pat Elflein
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Almost an afterthought in the 2012 recruiting class, Pat Elflein has gone from relative unknown 3-star recruit to leader and captain of the Ohio State Buckeyes in his five years on campus. He returned to Ohio State for his senior year when the majority of the class he came in with decided to head for the NFL. One might argue that getting Elflein back on campus for his senior year was the biggest recruiting win for Urban Meyer last season even with the #4 overall recruiting class in America. Elflein joins junior Billy Price as the lone returning starters on a young offensive line that will look to protect J.T. Barrett and company all season long. Let’s take a look back at how Pat got to where he is today in this week’s Senior Spotlight.
In 2011 Pat was a 3-star recruit out of Pickerington, Ohio which is a city just outside of Columbus. He was listed as the 55th best offensive guard in the country and 62nd best prospect in the state of Ohio for the 2012 recruiting class. Pat was a three-sport athlete at Pickerington North, obtaining 12 varsity letters in football, wrestling and track. He was named in football to the all-Ohio Capital Conference, all-Central District and the Dispatch all-Metro teams.
Elflein was recruited mainly by Luke Fickell in the aftermath of the firing of Jim Tressel. Elflein camped at Ohio State and earned an offer, and pledged not long after in July. Fickell then gave way to Urban Meyer and had to convince Meyer that Elflein was worthy of becoming an Ohio State Buckeye. Meyer joined the Buckeyes in November and didn’t have much time to work with, and ended up keeping Pat in this class.
It was almost a certainty that Elflein would be redshirted coming into his freshman year, and a foot injury kept him sidelined for the 2012 season.
2013 would turn out very differently. Pat played sparingly throughout the season, including a season high 57 snaps against Florida A&M early in the season. He managed to get into every game that season, but his turning point came in the Buckeyes 42-41 victory in Ann Arbor. Marcus Hall was the starting right guard all season, however he was ejected from the game during a fight in the first half of the game, causing Elflein to come into a hostile environment and help anchor the offensive line. He would shine that day, and earn the start in the Big Ten Championship game when Marcus Hall was suspended, and never looked back.
His sophomore season would certainly turn out to be one to remember. Pat started in all 15 games for the Buckeyes that season leading a seasoned offensive line. Although he started the season at left guard he moved to right guard after three games and finished the season there. He paved the way along with the offensive line to a national top 10 ranking in rushing offense and helped lead the Buckeyes to the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship. He helped lead the offense to Ohio State records in touchdowns, points scored, passing yards and passing touchdowns. He ended the season by being named to the All-Big Ten First Team by the leagues coaches.
The Buckeyes came into 2015 with high expectations, and again Pat helped anchor the line that led the Buckeyes to a 12-1 overall record and a season ending win in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame. Pat started all 13 games again for the Buckeyes and alongside Jacoby Boren, Taylor Decker, Billy Price and Chase Farris. That group finished the season as the number one team in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game and second in the conference in scoring per game. Elflein again earned accolades after the season garnering second-team All American awards from Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press. He was also named a first team all-Big Ten Conference player by the coaches and the media. It was thought that he would end up testing the waters and entering his name into the NFL draft along with 3/5ths of his offensive line, however he made the decision to come back to Ohio State for his senior year.
With ALL focus on ND. I have decided to return for my last year & help this team achieve our goals.Thanks for the support #BuckeyeNation
— Patrick Elflein (@elflein65) December 18, 2015
With his return in the books, Coach Urban Meyer made Pat a captain for the 2016 season. He was one of three returning starters on the offensive side of the ball including Billy Price and J.T. Barrett. He has moved from his normal right guard spot on the offensive line to center where he will take over for Jacoby Boren and anchor the Buckeye offense. Having him there to call out coverages and help teach a starting offensive line with three new starters will be a huge asset for the 2016 Buckeyes.
Elflein graduated from Ohio State with a degree in communications in May of 2016. He has been awarded the “Iron Buckeye” award as a person who has unquestioned physical training dedication, determination, discipline, toughness and leadership. He will leave Ohio State as a possible four time OSU Scholar-Athlete award winner and a four time varsity letter winner. He has the chance as well to leave with this senior class as the all-time winning est player in Ohio State history, beating out the class that just left’s 50 wins.
The Buckeyes have had many high level recruits come to campus over the years, but the rise of Pat Elflein from relative unknown to a key cog in the offense for Ohio State has been a great story to watch unfold. For a kid who barely cracked the top 1000 players in the 2011 recruiting class to a potential first round draft pick is something to behold. It is a credit to all the hard work and dedication that Pat has put into himself and the Buckeye program, as well as all the coaches and trainers that have put him in such a great position to succeed. #65 will certainly leave big shoes to fill after this season.
The post Senior Spotlight – Pat Elflein appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Almost an afterthought in the 2012 recruiting class, Pat Elflein has gone from relative unknown 3-star recruit to leader and captain of the Ohio State Buckeyes in his five years on campus. He returned to Ohio State for his senior year when the majority of the class he came in with decided to head for the NFL. One might argue that getting Elflein back on campus for his senior year was the biggest recruiting win for Urban Meyer last season even with the #4 overall recruiting class in America. Elflein joins junior Billy Price as the lone returning starters on a young offensive line that will look to protect J.T. Barrett and company all season long. Let’s take a look back at how Pat got to where he is today in this week’s Senior Spotlight.
In 2011 Pat was a 3-star recruit out of Pickerington, Ohio which is a city just outside of Columbus. He was listed as the 55th best offensive guard in the country and 62nd best prospect in the state of Ohio for the 2012 recruiting class. Pat was a three-sport athlete at Pickerington North, obtaining 12 varsity letters in football, wrestling and track. He was named in football to the all-Ohio Capital Conference, all-Central District and the Dispatch all-Metro teams.
Elflein was recruited mainly by Luke Fickell in the aftermath of the firing of Jim Tressel. Elflein camped at Ohio State and earned an offer, and pledged not long after in July. Fickell then gave way to Urban Meyer and had to convince Meyer that Elflein was worthy of becoming an Ohio State Buckeye. Meyer joined the Buckeyes in November and didn’t have much time to work with, and ended up keeping Pat in this class.
It was almost a certainty that Elflein would be redshirted coming into his freshman year, and a foot injury kept him sidelined for the 2012 season.
2013 would turn out very differently. Pat played sparingly throughout the season, including a season high 57 snaps against Florida A&M early in the season. He managed to get into every game that season, but his turning point came in the Buckeyes 42-41 victory in Ann Arbor. Marcus Hall was the starting right guard all season, however he was ejected from the game during a fight in the first half of the game, causing Elflein to come into a hostile environment and help anchor the offensive line. He would shine that day, and earn the start in the Big Ten Championship game when Marcus Hall was suspended, and never looked back.
His sophomore season would certainly turn out to be one to remember. Pat started in all 15 games for the Buckeyes that season leading a seasoned offensive line. Although he started the season at left guard he moved to right guard after three games and finished the season there. He paved the way along with the offensive line to a national top 10 ranking in rushing offense and helped lead the Buckeyes to the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship. He helped lead the offense to Ohio State records in touchdowns, points scored, passing yards and passing touchdowns. He ended the season by being named to the All-Big Ten First Team by the leagues coaches.
The Buckeyes came into 2015 with high expectations, and again Pat helped anchor the line that led the Buckeyes to a 12-1 overall record and a season ending win in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame. Pat started all 13 games again for the Buckeyes and alongside Jacoby Boren, Taylor Decker, Billy Price and Chase Farris. That group finished the season as the number one team in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game and second in the conference in scoring per game. Elflein again earned accolades after the season garnering second-team All American awards from Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press. He was also named a first team all-Big Ten Conference player by the coaches and the media. It was thought that he would end up testing the waters and entering his name into the NFL draft along with 3/5ths of his offensive line, however he made the decision to come back to Ohio State for his senior year.
With ALL focus on ND. I have decided to return for my last year & help this team achieve our goals.Thanks for the support #BuckeyeNation
— Patrick Elflein (@elflein65) December 18, 2015
With his return in the books, Coach Urban Meyer made Pat a captain for the 2016 season. He was one of three returning starters on the offensive side of the ball including Billy Price and J.T. Barrett. He has moved from his normal right guard spot on the offensive line to center where he will take over for Jacoby Boren and anchor the Buckeye offense. Having him there to call out coverages and help teach a starting offensive line with three new starters will be a huge asset for the 2016 Buckeyes.
Elflein graduated from Ohio State with a degree in communications in May of 2016. He has been awarded the “Iron Buckeye” award as a person who has unquestioned physical training dedication, determination, discipline, toughness and leadership. He will leave Ohio State as a possible four time OSU Scholar-Athlete award winner and a four time varsity letter winner. He has the chance as well to leave with this senior class as the all-time winning est player in Ohio State history, beating out the class that just left’s 50 wins.
The Buckeyes have had many high level recruits come to campus over the years, but the rise of Pat Elflein from relative unknown to a key cog in the offense for Ohio State has been a great story to watch unfold. For a kid who barely cracked the top 1000 players in the 2011 recruiting class to a potential first round draft pick is something to behold. It is a credit to all the hard work and dedication that Pat has put into himself and the Buckeye program, as well as all the coaches and trainers that have put him in such a great position to succeed. #65 will certainly leave big shoes to fill after this season.
The post Senior Spotlight – Pat Elflein appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...