2009 tOSU Running Backs discussion (official thread)

[matt_thatsme]

I think people have discounted Brandon Saine just a bit too quickly. The guy had some injuries and all in all a pretty crappy year. I think he will step it up for 2009. I still think Boom will be the starting back, but B Saine will see lots of pt.
I don't expect near as much I formation next year.

[NightmaresDad]

Boom is absolutely the #1 guy next year.

That freshman safety for TX is STILL looking for his jockstrap!

Saine, as has been pointed out, is the big question mark. He has shown a very good ability to pass block, and he's great catching the ball. he will definitely get some use. How much he totes the rock as tailback - who knows?
I like Daveeb's idea of using Saine as that H-back.

Berry > M Wells. He will lower his pads and flat run over you. But yeah, not going to remind anyone of Beanie running inside. Too explosive not to see the field a fair amount. At least 100 plays.

Hyde can tote the rock, for sure. It's all the other things he may have to work on to see much PT. Might get fair amount of work in short yardage and red zone packages. From what film I saw, the kid is a beast when he squares his pads and heads north/south.

[EDDIE GGGG27]

Is there anyone else besides me that thinks Lamaar should get some carries out of the backfield next year?

[billmac91]

Personally, I always saw Saine as a receiver, after watching his high-school tape. His lateral quickness just isn't what you'd expect out of someone at RB and with his speed.

With the exception of his one run against Washington, I just haven't seen anything that says tailback/RB. I do think Saine could be a good weapon in the Shot-Ginn, or as a RB in the backfield with Pryor and Herron.

I just don't see him as an in-between the tackle type RB though.

[BuckTwenty]

There was quite a few pages of talk in Brandon Saine's Thread (Nov 5th, 2008) that he was going to make the switch to Fullback. Is that experiment done with (did it even start?) or is this a possibility for next year?

Could be a brilliant move and a way to get another weapon some PT, some potential catches and hopefully some short-yardage runs. He made a nice bowling ball for us when Beanie was out early in the season and we needed to get 1-2 yards for the 1st down. Plus, we all know what he's capable of when the ball's thrown to him in open space... good things.

[billmac91]

Originally Posted by BuckTwenty

There was quite a few pages of talk in Brandon Saine's Thread (Nov 5th, 2008) that he was going to make the switch to Fullback. Is that experiment done with (did it even start?) or is this a possibility for next year?

Could be a brilliant move and a way to get another weapon some PT, some potential catches and hopefully some short-yardage runs. He made a nice bowling ball for us when Beanie was out early in the season and we needed to get 1-2 yards for the 1st down. Plus, we all know what he's capable of when the ball's thrown to him in open space... good things.

I'm not sure how much PT a FB has for us in the offense next year. I'd imagine we'll be running a lot of zone read and spread.

Maybe on third and short, but you'd expect a traditional FB to blast open holes vs. a Havili type fullback.

[bukIpower]

Saine is a great athlete no doubt, but Boom has that tailback's mentality. Not that Saine doesn't, but he is more of an athlete. When healthy, he's going to be a solid contributor, but Boom is fit to be a #1 tailback at this level. Many people don't realize that he has a ton of potential, and as I've said on other threads/boards, he's going to define himself as himself. In other words, he's not trying to be like anybody else. He's working on perfecting his style of football, which is running hard with little to no "dancing." Not that he doesn't have any moves, but his style allows him to hit the hole as hard as possible. Whether you support him or not, he's going to be better than most people anticipate.

As far as the incoming freshmen are concerned, I have been very impressed with their films. Hopefully, that translates well to the next level.

I agree. 100%. Boom just has some tools that cannot be gained in the weight room or running sprints. Things like vision, balance, pad level, and instincts just have to come naturally.

I believe Zoom was saved the redshirt because of his size (215-220), and Boom was given that year to get bigger/stronger. Nothing to do with his ability to play.

Saine had the very same "tailback mentality" before he got hurt, and ever since has seemed tentative. If Saine reverts to his pre-injury ways, we're going to have an excellent 1-2 tailback combo, regardless of who's #1 and who's #2...

Man I really hate talkin in a negative light on Zoom because he seems like such a nice guy but I don't see where people say he had such great numbers?

Sure, he played a nice game against Washington/YSU. Those were the games were he had a good game rushing wise, but thats not the best competition. One area were Brandon has ALWAYS done a really nice job is a reciever out of the backfield. I think the staff should look at how USC uses their fullback and try and get Brandon the same type of action.

Somethings always been off to me when I see Brandon run. It almost looks like he's going so slow and hesitant that I don't know what to make of it when he's got the ball. Very rarely you'll see Brandon either A) Bounce it out or B) make a move and just hit the whole. One thing about Boom is for his size he see's the crease and just GOES.

To be honest the idea of Brandon as a recieving fullback, and a quick dive guy really appeals to me. A true running back does not though. Maybe if he was a recieving threat out of the fullback position he could stay healthier too??

I'm not sure how much PT a FB has for us in the offense next year. I'd imagine we'll be running a lot of zone read and spread.

Maybe on third and short, but you'd expect a traditional FB to blast open holes vs. a Havili type fullback.

We'll still have some formations with two backs though.

[Tresselbeliever]

Stat predictions:

Boom: 1100 yards, 5.3 yds/carry
Pryor: 530 yds, 5.8 yds/carry
J. Hall: 250 yds, 4.6/carry
Berry: 150 yds, 4.2/carry

[bukIpower]

Boom: 1100 yards, 5.3 yds/carry
Pryor: 530 yds, 5.8 yds/carry
J. Hall: 250 yds, 4.6/carry
Berry: 150 yds, 4.2/carry

Jordan Hall sighting! The more I watch highlight films of Jordan the more he looks like a true player. Before I knew any better I thought he was offered because of Pryor, but he's clearly a very talented ball player.

If I had a guess it'll be something like this..

Boom: 900 yards, 5.5/carry
Pryor: 700 yards, 6/carry
Berry: 350 yards 4.5/carry
Hyde: 250 yards 3.5/carry (short yardage with around 5-8 TDs)

[buck2006]

I agree Boom will be the man at the start of the year. Berry and Hyde look to be the real deal and will compete for the #1 spot. I think Hyde could be the man by years end.

[HorticullyBuck]

Is the williams guy still with us? didnt he have a few snaps last season? he seemed to have a good size for RB

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by HorticullyBuck

Is the williams guy still with us? didnt he have a few snaps last season? he seemed to have a good size for RB

Marcus Williams was senior walk-on...he has used up his eligibility and I think he graduates in June.

[Redhawk]

Ohio State football: Coach talks running backs - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

After the signing day news conference last week, running backs coach Dick Tressel was a popular guy. When you're trying to replace Beanie Wells, there's a lot to discuss.

Brandon Saine is a player I get more questions about than almost anyone on the OSU roster, and he remains an intriguing package of a speed guy in a pretty big body. I haven't been counting on him in any of my projections because of his injury issues his first two years, but Tressel makes it clear he's right in the picture. Dan Herron wasn't discussed during my time with Tressel, but don't forget he starts as the No. 1 guy.

How important is it to have a guy like Carlos Hyde that can be your power tailback?
You need to have a guy like that because the defenses in the Big Ten are so good and so committed to defense. I think some places you can get away with it and feel like a guy is not going to get beat on. In the Big Ten, running backs are going to get beat on, and you better have somebody that you know they're going to get pounded and is going to be able to hold up. Look at Beanie in our '07 Michigan game. It's raining and we say we're going to pound the football and they know it's coming, but so ... we've got a guy who can handle it. You need to have that guy. It doesn't mean the other guys can't handle the pounding, but to have someone with the body to handle it, that's to your advantage.

Is Brandon Saine a tailback or some combination of a fullback and receiver out of the backfield? Where does he fit it?
Tailback. The fact of the matter was he had a great spring last spring, so we came into this fall, we have all these good tailbacks, how are we going to get them on the field? So he can do these other things, so maybe he's the guy you move around to do these other things. He had injury issues, so it all didn't happen for him and us. Fortunately, we get to regroup and have him in a position to move forward.

Are there just injuries with Brandon or is it anything else?
Brandon got hurt at bad times. Brandon pulled a hamstring like the second day of practice (in the preseason), so the three weeks he missed with a hamstring, it wasn't one practice a day, it was two practices a day. He missed so many practices it was hard to catch up, because he had other good guys there. Then he twists his ankle, no big deal but sort of luck of the football draw. Fortunately, he's a great kid and I don't think it'll have any carryover.

Will there be a 20-carry-a-game guy, or would you be just as happy if between Dan Herron and Saine and Hyde and Jaamal Berry, you have some combination of guys?
I think you need a couple guys that you can believe in. And to make that happen, you need to make sure you get them in positive times so they're with the good guys, making good plays and then kids believe in them. I think the decision on how many carries you're going to get them, you share the carries but as the season goes along you play it out.

What does fullback look like? Fullback for us a battle between kids competing with each other but also competing with what is the best way for the Buckeyes to move the football. Every time the fullback goes out there, they have to earn their way onto the field and also earn the situation on the field.

We're fortunate that, you mentioned Adam Homan was already (enrolled), and we have three young guys that are pretty good guys. So Jermil Martin won't be left on an island to sink or swim. It should be interesting.

Where does freshman Jordan Hall fit it?
Unfortunately because the guys from Florida (Hyde and Berry) are higher ink guys, Jordan doesn't get talked about quite as much. He's been in the shadows a little bit, so that makes it more exciting when people see this guy is a player. He's strong physically, he's an explosive young man that we know can do a variety of things. He's like a big bonus, that nobody is going to realize ... oh my goodness. We've had bonuses around here before. I think the last one I recruited was Laurinaitis.

Did you recruit running backs for this class assuming that Beanie would not be back?
Yeah, we had to be ready for that. The thing was, there were probably some decisions, and final decisions, made when he decided he was going to go (pro). You might have had trouble holding on to a couple of these guys if Beanie had said he was coming back. Only because more and more kids are keeping track of when they get a chance to play. I think they need to keep track of how soon they get to practice. With Beanie here, they wouldn't have gotten to practice. Now the ball is going to be passed around, and (they think) I can show what I can do and show what I need to work on. That's a positive deal.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Redhawk

Ohio State football: Coach talks running backs - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

How soon until football season?

[Poe McKnoe]

Originally Posted by Redhawk

Ohio State football: Coach talks running backs - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

I want to go ahead and thank Dick Tressel for providing an interview that was worth reading, unlike Jim Bollman. You have question, and you have answers. That's how it works.

"Who knows what could happen?"
"Either one of those guys could play anywhere."
"It's got a chance. You've got a chance."