It took Urban Meyer more than a decade and four different college head coaching jobs before he had a running back eclipse the 1,000-yard mark over the course of a season.
The player to shatter the barrier was Carlos Hyde, who romped for 1,521 yards during his senior season as Ohio State went 12-2 in 2013. Ezekiel Elliott tallied 1,878 and 1,821 yards the last two seasons, the main driving force to Ohio State's offensive attack.
| YEAR | PLAYER | CARRIES | YARDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Josh Harris, QB | 126 | 614 | 8 |
| 2002 | Joe Alls, RB | 122 | 801 | 4 |
| 2003 | Brandon Warfield, RB | 237 | 976 | 11 |
| 2004 | Marty Johnson, RB | 165 | 802 | 14 |
| 2005 | Deshawn Wynn, RB | 130 | 621 | 7 |
| 2006 | Deshawn Wynn, RB | 143 | 699 | 6 |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow, QB | 210 | 895 | 23 |
| 2008 | Tim Tebow, QB | 176 | 673 | 12 |
| 2009 | Tim Tebow, QB | 217 | 910 | 14 |
| 2010 | Jeff Demps, RB | 92 | 551 | 3 |
| 2012 | Braxton Miller, QB | 227 | 1,271 | 13 |
| 2013 | Carlos Hyde, RB | 208 | 1,521 | 15 |
| 2014 | Ezekiel Elliott, RB | 273 | 1,878 | 18 |
| 2015 | Ezekiel Elliott, RB | 289 | 1,821 | 23 |
Before 2013, Meyer never coached a running back to an 1,000-yard season. Braxton Miller ran past that mark in 2012 with 1,271, but he played quarterback back then. Not even Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion Tim Tebow can say he did that. The most yards he ran for in a season was 910 in 2009, though he was one of four players to rush for at least 600 in 2008, the second year Florida won the BCS National Championship under Meyer.
So what's the point of this story? It's not easy to rush for 1,000 yards over the course of a college football season, especially when your team runs the spread offense. Meyer's version of the spread is run-based, but demands a shifty quarterback to keep the sticks moving, too. There's a reason he never had a 1,000-yard rusher at Florida — not only did he not have the luxury of a talent like Hyde or Elliott, he didn't need to.
Tuesday, Meyer said he could see the Ohio State rushing attack in 2016 being similar to what he had in Gainesville — spreading the touches around to a host of worthy ball carriers like Bri'onte Dunn, Mike Weber, Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson.
"We had Carlos Hyde and then Zeke Elliott, and at Florida I didn’t have those two guys," Meyer said. "We had to create running with some other guys so I think a little bit more of that this year."
It makes sense: Elliott is set to be a first-round NFL Draft pick next month. Hyde is the lead back of the San Francisco 49ers. The players at running back on Ohio State's spring roster aren't exactly NFL talents — at least not yet.
Samuel isn't doing much this spring due to undergoing surgery on his foot in January, and Meyer mentioned Tuesday that Wilson isn't full-go because of a sore foot himself. He did say that the burner from Texas will be full speed next week, though.
Overall, Meyer has plans for those two players in the run game if they stay healthy.
"You’ll see Curtis and Dontre carry the ball," Meyer said.
Wilson didn't take any handoffs in 2015, but caught seven passes for 63 yards as he battled his nagging foot injury. Samuel ran 17 times for 132 yards and a touchdown last season, mostly sitting behind new H-back Braxton Miller on the depth chart while also spending time at wide receiver. He will likely take snaps out wide in 2016, but Meyer seems adamant about giving him handoffs.
Both guys are going through tailback and wide receiver drills in practice, working in with quarterback J.T. Barrett, Weber, Dunn and true freshman Antonio Williams in backfield action as much as their injuries allow.
Meyer's comments Tuesday further drive home the point he made the first week of spring practice about there being at least four players to carry the ball this year for Ohio State. He does not see a tailback on roster whose talent demands touches like Hyde and Elliott did the last three seasons.
"I guess you’d hope it would be Bri’onte Dunn to take the first snap of the first game of the season, but I think the kid behind him is pretty good, too," Meyer said March 8.
