Mike Weber’s Challenge: To Break the Ohio State Sophomore RB Jinx
Will Mike Weber be the first Ohio State RB to rush for over 1,000 yards in both his freshman and sophomore seasons?
Last season, Mike Weber became only the third Ohio State freshman to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He will have to beat the sophomore running back jinx in order to string together back to back 1,000 yard seasons.
The other two Buckeyes who rushed for 1,000 yards as freshmen failed to accomplish that feat the following year. In fact, neither of them were even on the football team.
In 1990, Robert Smith broke Archie Griffin’s Ohio State freshman rushing record totaling 1,126 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns. It seemed like Smith, the Bobby Dodd National Back of the Year in high school, was going to put up outstanding numbers as a Buckeye.
However, Smith had a fallout with an assistant coach and it soured the running back on playing football. He quit the team and ran track for the Buckeyes his sophomore year, and considered transferring to another school to play football.
Coach John Cooper left the door open for Smith to come back to the football team and he did. He rushed for 819 yards in 1992, graduated early and entered the NFL draft.
Smith was chosen in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings and went on to have an outstanding career in the NFL. But he didn’t have another 1,000 rushing season until 1997.
Things worked out fine for Robert Smith, but not so well for this next guy.
Maurice Clarett’s freshman season in 2002 was one for the ages. The following year his football career was essentially finished.
In 2002, Clarett set the Ohio State freshman rushing record with 1,237 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. He was the driving force of the offense as the Buckeyes won their first national title in over 30 years.
Then the sad soap opera would begin. Clarett had off the field issues, including a run in with the law, and was dismissed from the team.
He sued the NFL to enter the draft in 2004 and eventually lost that battle. Clarret was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft by the Denver Broncos. But Before the NFL season even started, Clarrett was released from the team. His freshman season at Ohio State was to be the last time Maurice Clarett would rush for 1,000 yards.
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So you see Mike Weber would be the only Ohio State freshman to rush for 1,000 yards and have a successful sophomore year on the football field. I think he can because he has a distinct advantage over the other two. He was successful last season as a redshirt freshman.
The first year or two of college is the most difficult time for anyone, especially a student athlete, and they are bound to face adversities. Weber has already been through a couple of situations. The first was when Ohio State running backs coach Stan Drayton left to be an assistant for the Chicago Bears right after the 2015 National Signing Day. Then Weber was red-shirted his first year as a Buckeye. He has already handled disappointments and matured, so Weber should be more apt to handle things that may come along as he enters his third year at Ohio State.
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Barring injury, I fully expect Mike Weber to have a strong 2017 season and rush for 1,000 yards again. Then the Ohio State sophomore RB jinx will be broken.