Elliott Brings New Dynamic to Ohio State's Backfield

By Tim Shoemaker on October 1, 2014 at 10:10 am
Ezekiel Elliott's not a replica of Carlos Hyde, but he doesn't need to be.
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Ezekiel Elliott will be the first one to tell you he is not Carlos Hyde.

But in this year's Ohio State offense — one that piled up 710 yards and a school-record 45 first downs in Saturday's 50-28 win over Cincinnati — he doesn't necessarily have to be.

"He’s more of a bruiser-type back," Elliott said of Hyde on Monday. "I like to get outside more, I have a little more finesse than him.”

But make no mistake about it, Elliott can run between the tackles, too.

The sophomore running back had 182 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries in Saturday's win against the Bearcats. He also caught five passes for 51 yards and 112 of his yards came after initial contact.

"I’m not as big of a back as Carlos so I can’t take as many hits as him so I’ve just gotta protect myself a little bit and find ways to get those extra yards after contact," Elliott said. "But just being a running back, you’ve gotta be tough. You’ve gotta have some bruise to you. You can’t be all outside."

Elliott's combination of between-the-tackles running and outside running have made him effective so far, but Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer believes his production goes beyond his physical talent. Meyer loves Elliott's work ethic.

“He’s been raised the right way. He’s probably one of the top two or three workers on our team," Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten coaches teleconference. "I don’t wanna say he’s changed the culture because that culture sort of changed last year, but the running back room right now is the top as far as work ethic on our team and that’s a credit to their leader and that’s Coach (Stan) Drayton and the leader of the players and that’s Ezekiel Elliott so yeah, his work ethic is incredible."

Last year, Ohio State's offensive identity was to run the ball with Hyde and star quarterback Braxton Miller behind an offensive line which featured four seniors. Whenever the Buckeyes needed to make a play, Hyde or Miller seemed to bail them out.

But this season, Hyde is gone, Ohio State has four new starters up front and Miller hasn't played a snap after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in preseason training camp. The Buckeyes' offensive identity was gone just like that.

But after a 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech, Ohio State seems to be developing a new one. The Buckeyes are still running the football, but they're also having redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett distribute to a group of emerging playmakers. Elliott has become a huge part of what Ohio State does on offense in both running and throwing the ball.

“Now we’re just getting that depth back and we certainly feel like we have more of an identity now," Meyer said.

Added Elliott: “That is our identity: a physical offense. We want to establish the run and then take shots off play-action. So, if we can establish the run that’s when we’ll be at our best.”

Ohio State's offense was certainly at its best Saturday against the Bearcats, but as the Buckeyes now shift to Big Ten play, they'll have to be even better.

And they'll need Elliott to be just like Hyde in some ways and nothing like him in others to have a shot at playing for the conference title for the second-straight season.

"He did the job you would want a Carlos Hyde to do, but he's a different runner than Carlos," co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Ed Warinner said. "Ezekiel is playing great right now. We just have to keep him going."

Saturday's performance was certainly a good start.

“That was a game I needed," Elliott said. "I said it before and I think I have a little bit more momentum in my life, so I’m just gonna try and keep it going from here.”

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