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Ohio State needs more Mike Weber in 2017

Garrett Kroeger

By Garrett Kroeger

Published:

Last season, then redshirt freshman Mike Weber had arguably the biggest shoes to fill in college football. He had to replace running back Ezekiel Elliot.

And he proved those shoes were not that big for him.

In 2016, Weber became the third Ohio State freshman running back to break the 1,000 yard mark.

While that statistic is impressive, Weber can be so much more than the 1,096 yards and nine touchdowns he was in 2016. Especially, since the Buckeye coaching went away from him as the season progressed.

Weber topped the 100 yard mark three times out of the Buckeyes’ first four games–136 yards against Bowling Green, 123 yards versus Oklahoma and 144 yards against Rutgers. But after that, Weber only eclipsed the 100 yard barrier once–111 yards versus Michigan State.

Against Michigan, Weber only carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards and then five times for 24 yards and two fumbles against Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

During the first seven games of last season, Weber averaged 16.4 carries and 97.6 yards. Then during the last six contests, Weber’s numbers decreased to 11.1 attempts and 68.8 yards. And Weber and some Ohio State fans were frustrated over the amount carries he saw as the season progressed, especially the Clemson game.

Despite winning the Thompson-Randle El B1G Freshman of the Year Award, Weber did not finish strong. That cannot happen in 2017, as Weber and the running back position needs to be the strength of the Ohio State offense.

 

According to his coaches, Weber has turned the page on last season. Weber has embraced the expectations that come with the position and has improved on his approach in all aspects of the job. That should be welcomed news for the Buckeyes heading into 2017.

While Weber’s mindset has changed, that is not the only difference that could affect his output this upcoming season.

RELATED: Crystal Ball: Predicting Every Game for Ohio State in 2017

The most repeated question surrounding Ohio State this offseason has been “Will the Buckeyes play faster this year?”. And the answer looks like it is a yes.

This offseason, Ohio State brought in former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson as its new offensive coordinator. Wilson’s goal as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator is to bring back tempo to Ohio State’s offense. If he succeeds, that should bode well for Weber.

Wilson is no stranger to elite backs. He has overseen the development of Adrian Peterson while he was at Oklahoma and Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard while he was the head man of the Hoosiers. While all three backs were talented in their own rights, their great collegiate careers were thanks in a large part to Wilson deciding on featuring them in his offense.

During Wilson’s first three years at Indiana, no back had no more than 165 attempts. However, that was when Coleman began to emerge as the Hoosiers’ best player and Wilson was more than willing to give him the ball. Coleman racked 270 carries and ran for 2,036 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Wilson will not redesign Ohio State’s offense. However, he is a smart coach that knows how to utilize his best players. Weber is the most accomplished on the offensive side of the ball not named J.T. Barrett (the Buckeyes have to break in new receivers this year). So, there is no reason why Weber should not be the focal point of Ohio State”s offense this season.

 

While Weber should get more carries in 2017, some overlook the tremendous strides he made as pass blocker and that he showed he can be an effective runner both between the tackles and on the outside.

Yes, Weber did ran for more than 1,000 yards last year. But his 1,096 yards is the lowest total of any team-leading rusher during the Meyer era.

While Weber is one of the most experienced playmakers on the Buckeyes’ roster, there is talent behind him that will get touches as well.

RELATED: Top 10 B1G Running Backs for 2017

Freshman J.K. Dobbins has been taken camp by storm. He should wind up being Ohio State’s No. 2 back this season. Sophomore Demario McCall will probably be the Buckeye’s H-back this year. Last season, when he got touches, McCall teased everyone with his big play potential in garbage time.  The opponent was not great, but when McCall got the ball in his hands, he was electrifying. However, Ohio State’s offense is at its peak when it has a workhorse back that the opponent has to account for on every play.

Despite the decrease in production as the season worn on, Weber had more than a handful of runs that seemed like “almost” touchdowns. If Weber can turn those “almost” runs into actual scores and stay consistent throughout the entire year, the Buckeyes should make the College Football Playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Garrett Kroeger