We know that Coach Meyer is a fan of Boren, as he should be. Boren is a leader of the team and mostly likely heading to be a captain. You can count me in the camp of he's never been given the reps to prove his worth but he is a ferocious blocker, has some good hands, and is a pretty damn good athlete (he jumped over a dude!).
With Simon affirming again that Carlos Hyde's speed is for real and he is pretty shifty for a big guy, he looks like he is heading towards getting the lions share of the carries early on imo. Dunn also received some praise from the guys as well.
My question is, with all of these guys vying for time and Jordan Hall coming back shortly is there a chance we see multiple back sets to get all of the talent on the field?
I know that the base set for his spread is a rb, te, 3 wr. We may possibly see Jordan Hall as a wideout, which could leave Hyde/Boren/Dunn as the rb. Do we see a two back set with our talent? Flanking Braxton with Boren and Hyde? That is a lot of strength but also speed and athleticism in the backfield, it could be very dangerous.
Thoughts? Am I crazy? How do we take advantage of all of our talent in the backfield?
Sounds like a winner to me! It's such a hard decision to make to say your gonna be the guy when you have a group of guys like we have now on the roster! September can't come soon enough! Go Bucks!!
Are we all assuming Warren Ball will be red-shirting? I don't see him getting touches with Hyde/Hall/Smith/Dunn ahead of him @ tailback.
I'm constantly confused as to why people exclude Rod Smith when referencing our backfield depth??? Kid has a ton of talent & from what I've seen can catch the football. IF he gets over the fumble issues, the sky is the limit for him!
Well Rod Smith hasnt exactly lit it up on the field so im not sure why you think he should be referenced when talking about depth. I agree he has a ton of talent, but so did Jaamal Berry...
i think we all watched hyde hurt nebraska. i think he needs more touches. i like the idea, one things for sure this isnt gonna be the walrus offense!! go bucks!! hurry up sept!
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
I think that our RBs will be the best collection of backs in the country this year and beyond... Hyde is a beast, Smith is going to surprise a lot of people (as long as he holds onto the ball, the kid is awesome), Dunn will develop nicely this season and of course have Hall... be interesting to see what happens with Ball but I am very happy with our RB situation for the next few years, especially when Zeke gets to OSU
Didn't necessarily mean to omit Smith from the discussion. If he can force his way into the rotation great. I mean even if we exclude Dunn (which I think would be foolish) we have three legitimate "backs" in Hyde, Hall, and Boren. I'm just curious if the offense is going to get creative with some two back sets
Last year, people kept on saying Smith was better than Hyde and there was never any evidence of this on the field. It wasn't only the fumbles either. Smith just didn't look great out there. I think it was an example of people falling in love with a star rating when a guy is recruiting and valuing that over the guys on the field and what they actually do. It's not to say he won't be good. It just blew my mind last year that everyone talked about Rod Smith and was concerned about Rod Smith and what he was going to do, when Hyde was a damn good back. He has a lot of talent to be sure, but what did he do on the field last year that warranted the Rod Smith love. All I would ever hear is, well Eddie George fumbled as a freshman. Obviously that means Rod Smith will be the next Eddie George.........
Boren is the new Mike allstat from the tamp bucs. I run the ball and truck you or the other running back runs the ball and i still truck you or i catch the pass from the back feild then i truck you or you try to blitz my QB and i make you look out your ear hole while you go to the side line to gather your thoughts, that is the way Boren thinks. LOL
I think there will most definitely be some 2 back sets. I don't know necessarily what the formation is called but I envision Braxton in the 'gun with someone like Boren/Hyde to his side and a guy like Hall/Dunn/R.Smith/C.Brown behind him. Limitless possibilities. The OP on this thread is certainly onto something though...it'll be interesting to see if this type of scheme finds its way into our offense this year.
Champions Bleed Scarlet & Gray
that would be the pistol that we use to run so well with troy smith and some with TP.
^In that case, I hope we see some damn Pistol formation next season. A fullhouse backfield with three backs near the goaline would be a neat look as well. Tons of looks we could employ. Trust Urban haha
Champions Bleed Scarlet & Gray
I think a lot of the Rod Smith hype was due to the coaches and players raving about him during bowl practices the year before and during the offseason. I didn't think he looked bad, but he couldn't hold on to that ball. If he has bought into the training program he should be an animal because he always was an athletic freak. But like people said he may not get much of a chance with our large number of backs. Hall getting injured might give him a shot, I hope he makes the most of it because Urban likes to rotate backs so if we have 3 or 4 really good backs by the end of the year it will take some of the load off of Braxton who is still only a sophomore.
Accidental double post.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Second the Pistol!! I loved the power pistol (don't know if that is a real term) with Boren next to Braxton and Boom behind. I would love to see that with Hyde or Smith behind and Stoneburner, Hall, and D. Smith split out (or Thomas if he becomes too good to take out).
To further what Chrome said, when Hall gets back, maybe we'll see some plays where Boren and Hall are shifted back-and-forth.
For example, perhaps in the redzone, Hall is lined up next to Miller in the shotgun, with Boren in an H-back position, and Stoneburner at TE. From there, they can run power.
Or, before the snap, Hall shifts out to slot receiver, Miller goes under center, and Boren lines as a single power RB. From there, they'd also be well positioned to run power inside, but they could also fake to a play-action QB rollout with Hall and Stoneburner presenting possible mismatch problems (a LB might get stuck on Hall, or a smallish DB might get stuck on Stoneburner, etc.).
What intrigues me about this offense is that they have numerous "power" guys who bring "finesse" tools. They won't be the fastest speed-spread offense in the country, but they might be the toughest, most versatile power-spread offense. A lot depends on the inexperienced OL, of course.
It's been said that Boren will be a lot more active this season. As long as you consider him a back, then I think it's clear we'll see multiple backs on the field quite a bit. Listening to the B1G Preview show on The Fan last night, it sounded like Zach's role in the Offense is still a bit of a secret, so I'm pretty excited about that.
Good post. I don't know if we'll have a 2 back set - but I'm damn ready to find out! I do know that we have an extremely talented group of RBs right now & hope we'll be able to find something for all of them to do. Without Hall, Hyde is the feature back with Smith/Dunn spitting time in the #2 spot - but I'm actually most interested to see what Ball can do. Never saw a lot of video on him but have a feeling he'll be good & hoping to see him at least get a few touches throughout the year. One more month.....
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
At least now (with a new staff, especially on the offensive side), the Pistol will actually work. Last year's offensive staff had the gun loaded but it just wouldn't shoot. At times last season, it was the most inept offensive displays of football I had ever witnessed. We had great ideas on paper (like the Pistol formation) but that's all they were; we had lots of trouble executing plays. That will all change this season. Also like the Stoneburner/Heuerman look to the side of the QB; run QB and RB behind him one way and then throw a screen to the TE on the other side of the field similar to the play against Nebraska last year...
I couldn't believe my eyes on that play last year (for many reasons haha). OSU ran an effective screen play. I'm so thankful that we have a new offensive staff. Meyer and crew will be light years ahead of Bollman and Siciliano. We have so much to look forward to. There are playmakers on this team and Meyer will use them effectively. Damn....CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO START!!!
Champions Bleed Scarlet & Gray
I disagree with what people are saying about why some of us like Rod Smith. I never followed recruiting before UFM, so his stars never meant anything to me. I also never followed the off season before UFM, so I never knew what the coaches and players were saying about him.
IMO Rod has more potential to be an explosive running back. My opion is only from watching him on Saturday's. After his fumble issues he never was given much of a chance to make a real impact, which is understandable. Like a lot of people I hope that is behind him and he has a breakout year.
Regardless, I can't wait until the season starts.
BUCKU: I agree that watching him I was reasonably impressed minus fumbling, but the bowl practices his redshirt year is where people first started hearing his name.
Hmmm. I don't recall Troy running out of the Pistol a ton. I know he ran a ton of 3 and 4 wide sets with Pitmann able to shread already spread out defenses, but for some reason, I don't remember Troy running that set. Pryor used to run out of it a ton. I swear, I would give my right hand to see Terrelle Pryor in Urban Meyer's offense....2000 yards rushing, guranteed.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
Man TP under Urbz would have been insane!! I always thought Tres underutilized TP and thought he could have been so much better in a more explosive offense...
Yep. Part of my avid Pro-Pryor stance is the fact that the single most gifted athlete OSU ever had was not used correctly. I know part of the reason he said he chose OSU was to play in a more "Pro Style" offense than the schools that were recruiting him the hardest-Michigan under Rich Rod and Oregon but at a certain point you have to say "I'm the coach, this is what you do best, here is the offense we'll be running". Brian Urlacher absolutely despises playing in the defense he has his entire career in Chicago but he does it, and he does it well. He'll end up in Canton because of it. Terrelle Pryor would have made the Big Ten his personal punching bag (more than he actually did for that matter) if he ran a zone read scheme on a consistent basis. I always thought 25 passes and 15 designed runs should have been the bare minimum for him. Remember-most of his big runs were improv jobs, not designed plays. He would have annihilated the B1G if used correctly and probably brought home a title or two along the way. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to settle for "Second best OSU signal caller, even with a walrus for an OC".
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
@BREWSTER - I think you're right, I don't recally Troy hardly ever running Pistol. Though, I think the "Shot Ginn" formation might have been a Pistol derivative (funny to think that was a "pre-wildcat" formation). TP ran quite a bit of it, though. And I agree, he'd be an absolute monster in Meyer's offense--he'd be like a fast Tebow that could get to the corner, as well.
He was certainly built to take the punishment a running QB can take and probably not miss time-unlike a certain dreadlocked player from the state of FL currently residing in the worst state ever who can't tie his shoes and has an inclination to tell people around him to feed him after he makes a play.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
whoa there hodge, pump the brakes bro, a great player tp was and could have been.... but a tim tebow he is not
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
@BREWSTER - Yeah, but--I'll commit blashpemy and say it--he would be a pretty amazing guy to watch in a Meyer offense.
@SIRRIKITH - Meh, they both were average-at-best passers who elevated themselves to playmakers with their feet. TP may not be the humanitarian (seriously, Tebow built a hospital in the Philippines--respect), but athletically they're both pretty gifted.
lol, i woulda loved to watch him with anything other than bollman.... even so id like to have seen that team stay together when they were seniors.... i really think that was a national championship caliber team
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
In reference to Tim Tebow I would like to say;
To all you virgins out there, thanks for nothing!
That is all.
I don't always take names when I kick ass but when I do, they most often belong to a Wolverine.
I'm with you Hodge & Brewster - TP in a Meyer offense would have been Cam Newtonish IMHO. Dude was definitely not used to his full potential & still produced some pretty epic results.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
That is sort of my point though. Pryor is a superior athlete and an equal competitor. The biggest difference between the two was the systems in which they played. Tebow was ideal for his system and succeeded accordingly while Pryor seemed to succeed almost in spite of the offense around him. It is actually an easy comparison to make. In terms of their raw abilities and skill as a player, I'll take Pryor 100 times before I let Tebow take a snap, he's THAT much of a superior athlete. Which is saying something because Tebow is\was an elite athlete in his own right. Pryor would have done even more than Tebow did in the right system. Stronger arm, better speed. What Tebow had in power, Pryor had in speed and improvisation. Tebow was clearly a smarter player but still had the benefit of a system practically Taylor made for his set. Pryor might be the second most physically gifted college football QB this side of Michael Vick. His lack of proper utilization was a crime against football.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
I dunno Tebow is/was a bruiser and could dish out the punishment but TP was clearly the better athlete. You put TP on that Florida team and you would have seen magic happen. Tebow has an insane work ethic and a never quit attitude which makes him a superior competitor, but make no mistake about it TP is far more gifted in terms of raw ability. Thats no knock on Tebow because I realize he's one of the greatest college QB's of all time but in terms of pure funk, TP takes the cake... Anybody know when the next 6'6 230lb stud that can run a 4.3 and sling iit 60yds is coming out of HS?? lol
@Brewster troy would pass from the pistol more then he would run from it, but the running back got most of the work out of it when they where in it
^^^ Oh I'm in full agreement with all of that. I imagine TP wishing he could come back for just one year with UFM. I think he would dominate in a way a QB has never done at OSU. That said I have faith Braxton will do some pretty special things by the end this season as well. Next year...look out!
Edit - in regards to Brewsters last comment.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Pryor took heat for saying he'd dominate the nation if he played in Cam Newton's offense, but he was right. The guy was a freak.
Posion you are right, and listening to Urban talk about Braxton, he's super excited to coach that kind of talent.
@BT - I remember him saying that & everyone came down on him for it. Maybe that's the type of thing you don't say out loud but it had to be tough watching someone excel & get that sort of praise & attention knowing that could be you....
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
I for one am not sold on our running backs, I personally don't see how this isn't a concern for Urban Meyer. J.Hall is slow, C.Hyde has little to no vision, R.Smith we don't know much about other then he can't put it all together, B.Dunn is a freshman, and W.Ball hasn't arrived on campus. Boom was suspended for 5 games, and our running game didn't really pick up until he returned, and he was placed immediately back into the starting line-up. That tells me he was light/day better then the other backs on the team, he didn't even have to work himself back in there. I am concerned about this position, and their production minus Boom this year.
The Pistol was developed in 2004-I have a hard time thinking a Tressel\Bollman coached OSU adopted it merely a year or two later. I'll stand by my point-Troy never ran the Pistol.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
brewster - You never saw that report about Jim Bollman abducting Chris Ault with a pistol to his head, no less, in 2004 and forced him to share all of the intricacies of his offense, of which Bollman only understood where his players should line up, but not how it actually works.
I would imagine to see Boren be used in the same way Alabama used Smelley last year
Tenn, the bigger story there is that Chris Ault understood Jim Bollman's walrus talk enough to survive that ordeal.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
Seems to me Smith &/or Hyde take over early this season or they aren't ever going to.
Buckinbama, Hyde has little to no vision? He averaged 5.3 yards per carry in 2011, and the Offense was extremely predictable! I'd say he's pretty good...
@Buckinbama - Agreed with what Bassplayer said. Hyde had decent numbers despite not only a predictable offense - but maybe the most predictable offense I've ever seen. There were 2 plays: Dave & Dave. Everything else was pretty much Braxton improvising. I actually have a good deal of faith in the backs. As for Hall - he might not be the fastest guy out but he is shifty as hell. The last TD he scored against UF I the Gator Bowl was a thing of beauty...he was not going to be stopped!
Edit: Agreed Hydes vision could be improved...suspect by the first 2 games we'll see if that has happened.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
A play that comes to my mind is actually from this past spring practice. Very early on, pretty sure players weren't even in pads but Hyde came out of the backfield and caught about a 20 yard pass from Braxton and turned it into an 80+ yard td.
I just imagine if Hyde or Boren are lined up in the backfield, they are most likely going to draw coverage from a LB, and I like my odds with those two gaining separation from an LB
To be fair, Hyde's average was padded by the fact that he was largely playing against weaker opponents than Herron was. Hyde's a better athlete, but Herron had the better vision. If Hyde can start seeing holes better, kid's going to be scary good.
I distinctly remember times last year where Hyde would seemingly run directly into a defender rather than try to evade him. Which is all good and well if you plan to break the tackle, but if you plan on just falling down (like he did in 90% of these instances) when you run into defenders, maybe you should develop a bit of elusiveness. I like Hyde; great speed for a big guy but he needs to develop just a bit of wiggle - enough to help him not run straight into defenders. That being said, I think he has, in all likelihood, improved this spring and will continue to in the fall and we will see it translate well this season on the field.
However, give Rod Smith a chance - still very young and has gotten a fresh start with the new regime. If he gets the chance to tote the rock this season, I think he will impress more than a few Buckeye faithful...
Champions Bleed Scarlet & Gray
@ brewst Sorry sir it was something really close to the pistol here check it out but it was only one back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN3Gem1T3qI&feature=related and all his runs where options
Something that leads credence to seeing multiple RBs is also the inexperience and lack of proven playmakers at the WR position.
@Poison...
I would caution passing judgment on our backs (or Hyde's vision) after the first 2 games of the year. Vision is vision, but Hyde is going to be getting the ball in a different formation, following different blocking schemes, and ultimately running through different gaps, etc.
This may work to his advantage or to his disadvantage, if you look at some film on Coach Meyer's running plays, when they work, they work well and he's going to have massive holes to run through.
I'll be interested to see if he can become a back that creates his own holes and makes something out of little without jeopardizing moving the chains foward. Beanie Wells and Boom Herron by the time they left, were both very good at finding a hole in a seemingly broken play and making something out of little. However, both struggled early on with hitting the hole hard (he he), aka Lydell Ross disease.
I think we'll see a huge improve for Los and the whole backfield in general
Hmmm, I can't seem to really find any specific Carlos Hyde youtube videos. Someone needs to rectify this dearth as I only found one shaky fan video from a bad angle and a couple NCAA highlights.