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J.K. Dobbins off to incredibly efficient start, leads NFL in key rushing categories as a rookie

Mark Schipper

By Mark Schipper

Published:

Former Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins made his reputation going off on Saturday afternoons against the Buckeyes opposition. Last Sunday Dobbins, now a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL, churned up his first 100-yard game in the big leagues.

Dobbins carried the ball 15 times totaling 113 yards in a losing effort at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The quick, compact Dobbins averaged 7.5 yards a carry with a 28-yard long but didn’t find the end zone over the course of the tight 28-24 loss.

According to Pro Football Focus, Dobbins now leads the NFL in both yards per carry (6.7) and yards after contact per carry (4.2):

In Columbus last year, Dobbins became the first Buckeyes back to break beyond the 2,000-yard rushing mark in a single season, hitting 2,003 and 21 touchdowns over 14 games for the 13-1 Big Ten champions. He finished sixth in the Heisman voting.

In the College Football Playoff semi-final against Clemson, Dobbins fired off a lightning bolt 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and finished the game with 174 yards on 18 carries, good for 9.7 yards a rush in the team’s biggest game. 

Dobbins left Columbus as the school’s second-leading all-time rusher, trailing only the two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin who collected 5,589 yards to Dobbins’ 4,459.

Mark Schipper

Mark Schipper is a reporter, sportswriter, and aspiring novelist living in Chicago, Illinois.