Lettermen Row member mailbag: Running Back Week questions answered
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It’s time for a Running Back Week mailbag!
COLUMBUS — We asked the Lettermen Row members for their best Running Back Week questions, and now we’re answering some of them in an offseason Ohio State mailbag.
Let’s check what questions we received and get them answered.
ItsUurf asks…
Not necessarily a RB specific question but who do you expect to see slotted in at FB when they use one this season?
I think the spring game actually provided a good answer for this question. When the Buckeyes opened the spring game by spinning into the ‘T’ formation with Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and glorified fullback Patrick Gurd behind quarterback Will Howard, it certainly turned heads and caused Buckeyes fans to wonder if that power formation was a glimpse of what’s to come — or just a blast from the past in a ‘Block O’ clad hat top to legendary coach Woody Hayes.
If Ohio State chooses to use a fullback, it’ll likely be Patrick Gurd taking those snaps — if I had to pick one guy right now. The Buckeyes like what he can do in the blocking game, as Keenan Bailey has praised him in the past. Even Kevin Wilson repeatedly praised Gurd when Wilson was still coaching the Buckeyes’ tight ends.
Ohio State may not even have to use a fullback if the run game is what we expect it to be. If the Buckeyes want to, though, Gurd is a good candidate to take over that ‘Mitch Rossi’ role.
Some.random.old.guy asks…
Who will fill Xavier Johnson’s hybrid position?
The bigger question, in my opinion, is: do the Buckeyes need a Xavier Johnson hybrid role? If the answer for Ryan Day and Chip Kelly is ‘yes,’ then Brandon Inniss deserves consideration for it. Inniss played some quarterback in high school and has a good skillset returning both kicks and punts. He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands, whether that’s after the catch or on handoffs out of the backfield.
If Inniss takes over a Xavier Johnson-like role, he could thrive. But Ohio State may not need that role in the new Chip Kelly offense. It might be just as good with standard backs and receivers playing those roles.
Doctor Buckeye asks…
You’re drafting for a fantasy team, which Buckeye RBs do you choose based on their college prime (pick two, PPR): Carlos Hyde, Zeke Elliott, JK Dobbins, Treyveon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins?
I’m never picking against Ezekiel Elliott, so he would be my first pick, and I wouldn’t have to really think twice about it. That 2014 team was good for many reasons. It was championship-level elite because of Elliott. I even go as far to say that people truly forget how good he was during that title run. The stats don’t even tell the full story of him absolutely dominating three of the best teams in the country. Special stuff. He’s my first pick.
From there, I’ll take the guy who ran for more yards in a season than any other Ohio State running back in program history: JK Dobbins. That 2019 season he had was so, so ridiculously good. He’s the only player in program history to go over 2,000 rushing yards in a season, and he also had 23 catches for 247 yards and two receiving touchdowns in that season. He was lethal out of the backfield in the screen game and was the best running back in the Big Ten in 2019 — yes, better than Jonathan Taylor. And I’m still convinced that he would’ve rushed for 200 yards against Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal if he didn’t injure his ankle in the first half. He was terrorizing that Tigers defense.
That’s not to say Hyde and Henderson aren’t special players or worthy of consideration. And it’s hard to judge Judkins because I don’t think he has even hit his prime yet (that’s coming this fall). But if I have the choice of those five, Elliott and Dobbins are easy selections for me.
Some.random.old.guy asks…
Didn’t Kaden MacDonald line up in the backfield during the Cotton Bowl? Will we see more of that or something similar?
He did line up at fullback for three snaps during the Cotton Bowl, yes. I won’t shoot down the idea of it happening again, but the Buckeyes didn’t have as much success with defensive linemen in the backfield — Caden Curry or Kayden McDonald — as they hoped. If Ohio State wants or needs a fullback, Patrick Gurd seems like a good option.
It won’t shock me if the Buckeyes go back to using a defensive lineman like McDonald in heavy formations and short-yardage situations. Ideally, though, they won’t have to.
ItsUurf asks…
Do you think that potentially redshirting the young guys could be a factor in whether they get reps over Caffey?
Ohio State coach Ryan Day has used the term ‘all in’ when talking about this season. Buckeyes outgoing athletic director Gene Smith said it too, in his own way.
“I probably put a significant burden on Ross with the budget because I was playing poker with football and went all in,” Smith said after his Q&A session at the Fawcett Center last month. “Where we are with football, and not winning Big Ten championships, I wanted to make sure that we did everything we could to make sure football has a real chance next year.
“And so when I think about my legacy, so to speak, I think about that. I hate to leave Ohio State when football’s not back to winning Big Ten championships. A little financial burden on Ross. He’s gotta balance the budget in the future because I just went berserk.”
The Buckeyes are all in on 2024. If that means burning a freshman’s redshirt to play him more because he’s the best option, the Buckeyes are going to do that. If James Peoples or Sam Williams-Dixon give them the best chance to win games — and win a national title — they’re going to play.
Caffey is a good player who is in the running for playing time. A potential redshirt situation in the day and age of the transfer portal shouldn’t be a determining factor, in my opinion.
The post Lettermen Row member mailbag: Running Back Week questions answered appeared first on On3.
