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Ohio State Football: Backfield Ideal for Urban Meyer- Kevin Wilson ‘O’

By Charlie Lockhart

Jan 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer celebrates after the game with running back Ezekiel Elliott (left) and linebacker Darron Lee (right) against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Buckeyes beat the Crimson Tide 42-35. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer celebrates after the game with running back Ezekiel Elliott (left) and linebacker Darron Lee (right) against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Buckeyes beat the Crimson Tide 42-35. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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A perfect storm for the Ohio State offense?

Head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson have proven they can be successful with different types of players in the offensive backfield. However, it appears the Ohio State backs they will be able to utilize during the 2017 season are ideally suited for an Urban Meyer-Kevin Wilson offense.

Both coaches have had outstanding feature backs in the past they relied upon to put up big numbers. Coach Wilson had Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma and Tevin Coleman at Indiana. And of course coach Meyer had a similar situation with Carlos Hyde and then Ezekiel Elliott.

But each of the two coaches have had a terrific offense when it was a more varied attack, using players with different skill sets. And you don’t have to look very far back for proof of that either.

In 2014, Coleman rushed for 2,036 yards before moving on to the NFL. The following season, coach Wilson used two running backs, Jordan Howard (1,213 yards, 9 TDs) and Devine Redding (1,012yards, 9 TDs) and had a great rushing attack. Howard, a 6’1, 230 pound back brought the thunder, and Redding at at 5’10, 202 provided the lightning.

The Hoosier offense improved by over 100 total yards per game from the previous season, and Indiana’s scoring rose by nearly 11 points per game.

Now coach Wilson will have three talented running backs to use in the upcoming season. Imagine what coach Wilson might do with the incumbent starting RB Mike Weber who brings a power game to the lineup, with backups Demario McCall and J.K. Dobbins providing plenty of speed.

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In 2014, Urban Meyer was still searching for the next Percy Harvin at the H-back position, but had yet to find a player of that caliber. So Urban used sophomore Dontre Wilson, redshirt freshman Jalin Marshall and true freshman Curtis Samuel. That worked out pretty well didn’t it?

Now that Samuel is moving on to the NFL, Urban may have to resort to using multiple players at the position again. It appears that may not be a bad thing with the way certain guys have stepped up this spring.

Parris Campbell has received rave reviews from coach Meyer, and Eric Glover-Williams is proving to everybody he should have begun his Ohio State career on the offensive side of the ball.

And don’t forget McCall. He will almost certainly be used like Samuel was in 2014, moving around from the RB spot to the H-back position as well.

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With the amount of talent at their disposal, and with the varied skill sets of the players mentioned, I expect the two offensive geniuses will be staying up late at night trying to figure ways of using all of them. I think this backfield group fits ideally into an Urban Meyer-Kevin Wilson offense, and It should be fun to watch and see how it evolves.

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