The Rise of Zeke: Elliott Turning Into Complete Marquee Running Back

By Michael Citro on October 21, 2014 at 10:10 am
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The Big Ten is blessed with a wealth of talent at the running back position, including Heisman Trophy candidates Ameer Abdullah and Melvin Gordon, along with other outstanding players like Tevin Coleman and Jeremy Langford.

While those four grab most of the headlines among the B1G’s tailbacks, Ohio State sophomore Ezekiel Elliott is quietly becoming one of the most complete backs in the conference. And he seems to get better with every game.

In the season’s first two games, the product of John Burroughs High School in St. Louis rushed 20 total times for 76 yards, scoring one touchdown each against Navy and Virginia Tech. His work was hampered by an offensive line still searching for cohesion, but you could already see the talent, especially in his 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against the Hokies. Running the ball to the left side, Elliott showed off his speed to get to the edge, as well as his power to fight off a tackler to get to the end zone.

ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
The next 1,000-yard rusher for Urban Meyer?.

In game three, a 66-0 drubbing of hapless Kent State, Ezekiel started emerging as the threat Urban Meyer envisioned a year ago, when Elliott emerged as the primary backup to Carlos Hyde as a true freshman. He carried only seven times in that game, amassing 65 yards (9.3 YPA) and didn’t score, but his performance went beyond his running stats.

That’s the game where Elliott showed he's the total package. He ran hard, moving the pile. He blocked like a fullback made out of bulldozers. And, perhaps most importantly, he caught the football out of the backfield.

Elliott caught four passes out of the backfield for 52 yards against the Golden Flashes, averaging 13 yards per reception. His threat as a pass catcher added a new dimension to an Ohio State attack that hasn’t been held under 500 yards or 50 points since.

Starting with the Kent State game, Elliott has rushed 71 times in four games for 455 yards (6.4 YPA) and two touchdowns. He has also caught 14 passes out of the backfield for 137 yards (9.8 YPC). He was the player of the game against Cincinnati, rushing for a career high 182 yards and a score, and finishing with five receptions for 51 yards. 

And he continues to throw crushing blocks, as he did Saturday to provide clearance for quarterback J.T. Barrett’s run to convert a fourth down and move the chains.

Currently, Elliott is on pace to become Urban Meyer’s second consecutive tailback to rush for more than 1,000 yards. If Ohio State plays in only one postseason game, Ezekiel is trending to pick up 1,150 yards. While that’s not quite on pace with a legendary basher like Hyde, Elliott is better in the passing game, and is already just two receptions shy of the 16 Hyde produced over the course of his entire 2013 season.

Hyde caught 16 passes for 147 yards in 2013. Needing only three catches and 11 yards to do so, Elliott could easily surpass both numbers by the end of the Penn State game this weekend.

As he continues to develop as a runner, a receiver and a blocker, Ezekiel will add his name to the lore of great Ohio State running backs like Hyde, Beanie Wells, Archie Griffin, Eddie George and Keith Byars. He may even get his own chant like those latter two. You can almost hear it now…106,000+ yelling “ZEEEEEEEEEEEK!” 

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