Ohio State Football: How Buckeyes replace Ezekiel Elliott

Ezekiel Elliot played a critical role in Ohio State winning 26 games over the last two seasons, including the national title in 2014, but who replaces him in 2016?

Saying Ezekiel Elliott was a great player during his three years in Columbus would be an understatement. Elliott, who is forgoing his senior season to enter the 2016 NFL Draft, leaves behind a gigantic legacy and will go down as one of the greatest players to ever wear the Scarlet and Gray.

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The numbers don’t lie about how productive Elliott was at Ohio State. He rushed for a career total of 3,961 yards and 43 touchdowns, including back to back seasons with more than 1,800 yards in his two seasons as a starter.

Elliott also saved his best for big games. He went on a tear during the final three games of Ohio State’s 2014 national title run, amassing a total of 696 yards against Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon. He also came up huge in the two biggest road games of his career (at Michigan State in 2014 and at Michigan in 2015) with a combined 329 yards on the ground.

It’s wasn’t just his ability as a runner that made Elliott a great player during his time as a Buckeye. He was sensational as a blocker as well as being an exceptional pass catching threat out of the backfield.

It’s never easy to replace a player like Elliott. But Ohio State has had an exceptional track record of replacing 1,000-yard rushers. From Elliott to Carlos Hyde to Dan “Boom” Herron to Beanie Wells, the Buckeyes are as good as any at replacing talent with more talent in the backfield.

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Add in Urban Meyer’s exceptional ability as a recruiter, and Ohio State fans should rest easy knowing that the next great Buckeye is waiting in the wings. The question is: Who is it?

We’ll start with the two backs who have game experience: Senior Bri’onte Dunn and junior Curtis Samuel. The latter has also spent time at H-back and wide receiver, so it’s unknown whether Meyer and the rest of his staff will look to use him as a full-time back.

But Samuel is absolutely electric with the ball, so don’t be surprised if he sees an uptick in carries out of the backfield in addition to his touches at receiver and H-back.

For Dunn, this could be his last opportunity to make his mark at Ohio State. He’s been in and out of Meyer’s doghouse and has had a limited number of carries in addition to playing on special teams. But he was a highly ranked prospect for a reason, and with a wide open competition this offseason, this could be his time to finally seize the starting job.

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The other backs expected to compete for the starting job are redshirt freshman Mike Weber and true freshman Antonio Williams.

Weber, a highly touted back from the 2015 class, made early waves in camp prior to the 2015 season and was expected to push for the backup running back spot behind Elliott. Unfortunately, a torn meniscus set Weber back and eventually led him to taking a redshirt.

Williams, the No. 6 running back in the 2016 class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings has already enrolled at Ohio State so he’ll be participating in spring practice. He’s the most inexperienced candidate of the bunch, making him the biggest longshot of the group to nab the starting job. But he’s certainly talented enough to tilt the odds in his favor and enrolling early definitely helps his chances.

I think Weber edges out Dunn to earn the starting job. He’s the most talented back of the group and his downhill running style will mold perfectly with quarterback J.T. Barrett’s ability as a runner on the edge along with the plethora of speedy playmakers the Buckeye offense has on the outside.

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However, I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these backs won the starting job. All four bring a different and unique skill set to the table. And each one is talented enough to separate themselves from the pack. One thing is for sure: When you recruit as well as Meyer does, you’ll always have options, particularly at a school like Ohio State.