Ohio State Recruiting Outlook – Running Backs

For as long as Ohio State football has been around along with the NFL, the Buckeyes have been putting running backs into the league at a significant rate. From the likes of Robert Smith and Archie Griffin and Eddie George and Carlos Hyde to the most recent in Ezekiel Elliott, the Buckeyes have put a number of quality running backs into the NFL. It all starts with recruiting the right athlete to play for your college, and Urban Meyer is doing a fantastic job of finding the right guys to fit into his system. Before he came to Ohio State to coach he had never had a back gain over 1,000 yards in a season, and how he has had three straight seasons with one. Mike Weber looks to continue that trend this year as he is already near 700 yards with still at least six games left this season.

Let’s take a look at the recruiting at the running back position for the next couple of years and see how the Buckeyes look.

Dontre Wilson is the only senior back on the roster this year but depending on how he feels his draft stock is Curtis Samuel could also opt to bolt for the NFL after his junior season. After those two, the Buckeyes are pretty light in the running back position with only three scholarship running backs remaining on the roster if Samuel goes pro.

The Buckeyes have one running back currently committed in JK Dobbins out of La Grange, Texas. Dobbins is a 4-star back who has been out of action this season after he sustained an injury in his teams first play from scrimmage in their first game of the season. While he remains committed to the Buckeyes, there is a lot of talk that depending on what happens with the Texas Longhorns coaching situation that he might consider Texas. When the Buckeyes were talking about taking a second back in this class, Dobbins told reporters that would cause him to probably look around as he wanted to be the only back in the class.

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Speaking of second backs in the class of 2017, there are a few names still floating out there for the Buckeyes. Cam Akers is the name most people are familiar with hearing. Akers, a one time Alabama commitment, was at one time thought to be a heavy Ohio State lean after a visit early this year. It seems that he is trending away from the Buckeyes at the moment as he has visited Ole Miss, Georgia and Florida State so far this fall. He has also scheduled one official visit to Michigan for November 19th. Plans are for Akers to announce his selection at the Army All-American Bowl in January, so we will have to wait and see if he schedules any other official visits before then. Another name to watch is Morgan Ellison out of Pickerington Central. Ellison is a 3-star recruit that has battled injuries the past two seasons but came away from the Opening as the MVP of the Columbus Regional against some of the midwest’s best talent. He reminds me of a guy like La’veon Bell who went under the radar out of high school and has gone on to great things with Michigan State and the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Akers spurns the Buckeyes, and Ohio State still has room in this class, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them offer Ellison and for him to accept it on the spot.

2017 Depth Chart

Commitments	Freshman	Sophomore	Junior	Senior
JK Dobbins		Antonio Williams Demario McCall	Mike Weber (RS)	Curtis Samuel

One of the biggest surprises of the Friday Night Lights camp back in July was the commitment of 4-star running back Brian Snead. Snead is the 6th ranked running back in the class of 2018 and hails from the talent rich state of Florida. The Buckeyes will likely try and add two backs to the class of 2018, so one more in addition to Snead. Other names to keep an eye on are Zamir White out of Laurinburg, North Carolina who is the #1 running back in the class.

https://twitter.com/snead655/status/756675061646589954

Other names to keep an eye on are Zamir White out of Laurinburg, North Carolina who is the #1 running back in the class. White has visited the Buckeyes once, and they hope to get him on campus again to improve their position with him. The Buckeyes will go hard after in-state prospect Jaelen Gill out of Westerville, Ohio. Gill suffered a season ending injury early in his junior season, but that will not cause the Buckeyes to not still go after this star athlete. Gill recently went on a trip to see the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and his proximity to Ohio State has granted him the ability to see the Buckeyes in person many times. Since I think that Mike Weber will probably go the Ezekiel Elliott route and declare for the draft after a successful junior season it will be very important that the Buckeyes find a couple of solid backs to help shoulder the load in 2018 and beyond.

2018 Depth Chart

Commitments	Freshman	Sophomore	Junior	Senior
Brian Snead	JK Dobbins		Antonio Williams Demario McCall	Mike Weber (RS)

The Buckeyes have offers out to two 2019 prospects already in Daniel Carter out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida and Devyn Ford out of North Stafford, Virginia.

The future at running back at Ohio State right now looks good with Mike Weber toting the rock for at least the next two seasons and Demario McCall showing flashes of what he is capable of so far this season. We haven’t gotten a good look at Antonio Williams but from all the things I’ve heard he should be a good one once he gets some meaningful playing time. Add in JK Dobbins and maybe a Cam Akers or Morgan Ellison followed by Brian Snead and maybe Jaelen Gill and the Buckeyes should be good to go for the next few years at running back.