 | A more mature and focused Carlos Hyde seemingly can’t be stopped after off-the-field trouble nearly brought down his career |
Cover story | Carlos Hyde
November 29, 2013 Source: Columbus Dispatch - One run against Illinois embodies Carlos Hyde’s season.
No, not the 51-yard touchdown run, nor the 55-yard touchdown run that was the capper to his 246-yard performance.
The run that stands out to Stan Drayton was a mere 3-yarder. If you want to understand Carlos Hyde — how good he has been this season and why — one particular carry in the third quarter holds the key.
Ohio State had the ball at Illinois’ 4-yard line, leading by 16. Hyde took the handoff and was just past the line of scrimmage when linebacker Ralph Cooper hit him. Like Hyde, Cooper weighs 230 pounds. Cooper got immediate reinforcement when 210-pound safety Earnest Thomas III filled the hole and also hit Hyde.
That’s 440 pounds against 230. The laws of physics dictate that Hyde should have lost in that situation, especially considering that Cooper grabbed Hyde’s facemask.
But somehow, Hyde kept churning his legs, refusing to be stopped, and propelled himself into the end zone. Although a replay review determined that his elbow touched just before the goal line, nullifying the touchdown, it didn’t diminish the effort.
“To me, that’s one of his better runs, if not the best run, he has had all year,” said Drayton, Ohio State’s running backs coach, as the Buckeyes prepared for today’s game at Michigan. “It’s not the 55-yard run when the offensive line did a phenomenal job and he had to make one guy miss.
“No, it was two unblocked defenders in the hole who met him at the line of scrimmage. We’re at the 4-yard line, and all you saw was this powerful slow push toward the goal line.
“I think that’s very symbolic of his mindset as he approaches every game and every time that ball is placed in his hands. He is relentless not to be denied and not leave any regret on the field at any time.”
It’s not hard to place the source of that determination: No one feasts like a man who has faced starvation.
“Sometimes it takes a situation where everything is almost taken from you to take care and focus on what’s important on and off the field,” OSU coach Urban Meyer said. “He has been real good.”
Hyde emerged as a consistently powerful running back last year. He gained 970 yards and would have been the first 1,000-yard rusher on a Meyer-coached team if he hadn’t missed almost three games because of a knee sprain.
But this summer, after a brief altercation with a 19-year-old woman at a Columbus bar, it looked as though Hyde might not have a senior season.
“Very close,” Drayton said when asked how close Hyde was to being kicked off the team.
Then the video of the incident was released, showing that the woman slapped at Hyde first and then he swatted at her in retaliation. That provided mitigating evidence, but it still was clearly unacceptable behavior and a violation of Meyer’s “core values” that include respecting women.
The same day that Columbus police announced that charges would not be filed against Hyde, Meyer suspended him for the first three games.
To Drayton, that would be a huge test. Hyde had matured substantially in 2012 but still had much more to do.
“Two years ago, he was a very selfish kid, was not a hard worker, did not go about his business the right way all the time,” Drayton said. “That is immaturity. Each year, he has taken steps in the right direction to improve that.
“Did he improve from two years ago to last year? Absolutely. Has he improved from last year to this year? Without a doubt. Do I believe the things he had to go through in regards to the decision he made off the field last summer has a major effect on him continuing to grow? Absolutely. This forced him to grow, and he responded.”
Meyer required that Hyde perform community service, and during practice he was relegated to scout-team duty. But he didn’t sulk. He did the best he could to simulate the looks the starting defense would see during those first three games.
When he was reinstated, he felt unleashed. One of his goals was to reach 1,000 yards.
“During my suspension,” Hyde said, “I told myself, ‘It’s still possible. You have to go even harder now.’
“That’s exactly how I play right now. In my mind, I have to make up time.”
Hyde is determined to make the most of each opportunity, no matter when. Center Corey Linsley spoke of a recent Sunday practice after a bye. It was a no-pads practice and players wore shorts.
“I’m blocking this linebacker and I’m just trying to fit him up,” Linsley said. “(Hyde) comes through and just smacks my back. I’m like, ‘What?!’ I look behind me like, ‘Who the hell just hit me?’ I went up to him and said, ‘Dude, you’re going pretty fast.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, man. I’ve got to run. They see us running on film.’
“I went back to the huddle thinking, ‘Man, if that guy runs into me like that on a no-pads day, what’s it got to feel like for a defender?’ I see guys bounce off him sometimes on film and him breaking all those tackles, and it doesn’t surprise me.”
Anyone can run through a gaping hole, which the offensive line often has provided this year. The true test is what a running back does when there is no hole. Hyde routinely gets 4 or 5 yards when he is hit at the line of scrimmage.
Only once in 138 carries has Hyde been tackled for a loss, for minus-2 yards. He crossed the 1,000-yard threshold last week against Indiana and has 1,064 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, averaging 7.7 yards a carry.
“Carlos is playing ridiculously well,” said Drayton, not one to dispense unbridled praise. “He’s playing with a purpose. His purpose is to leave a mark on this team to where he can say, ‘Hey, I was a part of this in a major way.’”
Drayton said that Hyde has become a different person — spiritually stronger, humble and quick to acknowledge the help of his teammates.
“I think the most special thing is how we play together,” Hyde said of the reason for the Buckeyes’ undefeated season. “It’s not just one person. We all are together. It’s really like a brotherhood here and it shows.”
Hyde almost wasn’t part of that brotherhood. That is why he cherishes it so much.
“It’s very rewarding as a coach to see a young man make a decision to change, not knowing what’s going to happen with the change but having the awareness that change needs to take place,” Drayton said. “Then to see the reward that comes with it reinforces what this program is all about.”
 Braxton Miller
Ohio State spotlight: QB Braxton Miller
November 29, 2013 Source: Columbus Dispatch - One thing was evident by the way Braxton Miller was leaping into the end zone last week.
“People make the comment, ‘He’s having fun,’ and he’s having fun because he knows what he’s doing,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said of his junior quarterback.
The coach hopes the good times will continue to roll today at Michigan as Miller leads the unbeaten Buckeyes, No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series ratings, against the Wolverines in the 110th renewal of The Game.
Miller leads the Big Ten in total offense (296.3 average) in conference games entering the regular-season finale. He could become the first OSU player to top that category since quarterback Bobby Hoying in 1995.
One reason, Meyer said, is because Miller has learned to use the other playmakers on the offense, such as running back Carlos Hyde, to lessen the strain. That has made it possible for him to pick the spots to take his shots, whether it’s passing or running.
“He is confident in the personnel around him, and that was not the case last year,” Meyer said.
He also figured that was not the case Miller’s freshman year, before Meyer was hired to restore the program headed into 2012.
“But I can only imagine his freshman year, because Braxton … is a guy who, if he’s not comfortable, he’s not going to act like he’s having fun when it’s not fun,” Meyer said.
Now he’s playing like a fully fledged quarterback and it shows, the coach said.
“He knows where people are. He knows the protections,” Meyer said. “He’s playing quarterback.
“He has a skill set to be a pro quarterback, there is no doubt in my mind. I don’t believe he is ready yet, but I certainly get asked that question: Can Braxton Miller play NFL quarterback? Absolutely, he can. No doubt in my mind because he continues to develop.”
 QB option, inside counter
Play of The Week
November 29, 2013 Source: Columbus Dispatch - The actors playing Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside can change from play to play in Ohio State’s multiple offense, something Michigan likely will discover today.
Indiana found out the hard way last week on this play — let’s call it “QB option, inside counter,” because of the problem it presents the defense.
Running back Carlos Hyde, now with more than 1,000 yards rushing in just eight games this season, has established himself as one of the premier power runners in the Big Ten. And when Ohio State lines up in this set, with Hyde flanking Miller in the backfield and tight end Jeff Heuerman at H back to the right before going in motion to the left before the snap, it makes sense for the defense mentally to go with the flow.
That’s exacerbated when, at the snap, right guard Marcus Hall steps back and pulls rapidly to the left. The play has the earmarks of a power sweep, which Hyde took for a 16-yard touchdown earlier in the game.
And when Hyde, who does much of his work inside between the tackles, heads to the outside, he’s going to attract a crowd.
But this time, Miller faked a handoff to Hyde, who had cut in front of him, and Miller hit the hole over left guard like a power-running tailback. Left guard Andrew Norwell had gone out to gain a second-level block on the flowing linebacker, which opened a void in the middle of the field.
Miller stepped into that void, made a counter-cut to the right and raced virtually untouched 37 yards for a touchdown, somersaulting into the end zone at the end.
 | Now back from an injury, Tommy Schutt says he is trying to make up for lost time by making as many plays as he can, such as harassing Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase on Nov. 16. |
Meet A Buckeye: Tommy Schutt
November 29, 2013 Source: Columbus Dispatch - Tommy Schutt was an elite defensive tackle prospect in the 2012 recruiting cycle. He had committed to Penn State before the Jerry Sandusky scandal ended the career of Joe Paterno, and he reconsidered and became the first player to commit to coach Urban Meyer at Ohio State in December 2011. He had to miss the first six games this season while he recovered from a broken foot suffered in preseason camp.
Question: Were you ever anything other than a defensive and/or offensive lineman?
Answer: I actually played running back and wide receiver my first couple of years. Then I played tight end and fullback, too, my junior and senior years in high school.
Q: If there was no football, what sport would you have pursued?
A: Baseball. It’s a little more relaxed sport. It’s not the same tempo. I played that my whole life and I really enjoyed it. I played first and third base.
Q: What does being the first prospect to commit to Urban Meyer at Ohio State mean to you?
A: I didn’t realize it until a few days after I did it, when I read about it online. But I think it’s something that definitely is pretty cool. It’s something I will always remember. I take pride in it because I think it’s pretty special.
Q: Michigan and Notre Dame filled up with D-linemen before you made up your mind and pulled their scholarship offers to you. Does that make this week a little more special?
A: Definitely. It was kind of a weird situation that happened at both of those places. A good game this weekend for the Buckeyes definitely wouldn’t hurt.
Q: Your OSU bio says you are exploring majors in the management and industry areas, which means you eventually want to be what?
A: Not really sure. Probably something to do with advertising or sales, something like that. I think I’m good at communicating with people, being able to give a little sales pitch and get some stuff sold.
Q: Who is the loudest member of the defensive line corps?
A: Joel Hale, easily. He’s the juice man. He always brings the juice to practice.
Q: Who is the smartest?
A: We call Mike Bennett “Dr. Bennett” sometimes. You can tell he’s a smart guy just by talking to him. He’s a real good student, and he definitely makes it known in conversation.
Q: What would you be — the fill-in-the-blank of the group?
A: The funniest. I don’t know. That was the first thing that came to my head.
Q: What is the best thing you’ve learned from your position coach, Mike Vrabel, a three-time Super Bowl winner?
A: It’s how much he stresses technique, and how much it can help you. We focus on perfecting our technique to really improve our game.
Q: How tough was it having to watch those first six games this season, and are you trying to make up for lost opportunities?
A: It was tough on me, and tough on our unit. But I used it as motivation, too, as far as workouts and rehab before I came back. And now that I’m back, I’m definitely trying to make up for lost time, making as many plays as I can and contributing as much as possible.
 November 29, 2013 Source: Columbus Dispatch |
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