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RB Michael Weber (New Jersey Generals)

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Mike Weber’s Return is the Right Move for a Number of Reasons

Mike-Weber-vs-Michigan-2016.jpg


It’s not officially official yet, but in today’s day and age, a single tweet from Mike Weber of “One more year” on Saturday is about as official as it gets that the redshirt sophomore running back will return for a fourth season with the Buckeyes in 2018.

There is no doubt that Weber’s personal “Stay or Go” list had positives and negatives on each side. For a running back, mileage is a legitimate concern, so the sooner you can get to the League, the better. This is a pretty deep running back draft this year, however, with the likes of Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, LSU’s Derrius Guice, San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny, and about a half dozen more who could be above Weber on any particular team’s draft board. Leaving may not have been as attractive right now as it once was.

By returning, however, Weber could be opening up a world of possibilities for himself and the Buckeyes.

As a draft prospect, Weber still needs to show that he can stay healthy for an entire season, which is something that he has been unable to do yet at Ohio State. His first season was cut short by a knee injury that forced him to redshirt. His redshirt freshman season ended with a bum shoulder, and this past season was a nearly-constant trial with a hamstring issue over the first half of the year and beyond. He also had a sprained wrist/hand that he had to deal with later in the season as well.

Splitting carries is not a draft deterrent for NFL teams. In fact, it could be considered a plus, considering running backs have a finite number of carries in their bodies. And it has never been about what a player didn’t do with the carries he didn’t get. It is always about what he has done with the carries he did get.

Now imagine the healthy Mike Weber that you saw hitting home runs against Michigan State and Illinois in back-to-back 100-yard outings playing for the entire 2018 season. The same Mike Weber who salted the Michigan game away with a 25-yard touchdown run.

There is an awful lot to like with the possibilities that Weber and J.K. Dobbins can bring.

Weber still needs to find a way to close in a stronger fashion, however. In the Michigan and Clemson games in 2016, he finished with 16 total carries for 50 yards. In the final two games of 2017, he managed just nine carries and 24 yards.

He did not appear very happy after the Cotton Bowl win, but there is plenty of reason to believe things will be changing for the Ohio State running game.

For one, the J.T. Barrett crutch is going away. Against ranked opponents this past season, Barrett averaged 15.8 carries per game. Against the unranked portion of the schedule, he averaged just 8.5 carries. On the season as a whole, he was right around 10 carries per game when you remove sacks.

Whichever quarterback wins the job, they will be required to run the ball, but they won’t be called upon — or at least they shouldn’t be — as often as Barrett was. That means more touches for a stronger, faster, and healthier Mike Weber.

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2018/01/mike-webers-return-right-move-number-reasons/
 
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