OSU may not need a clear No. 1 tailback

Buckeyes could split carries among 6 backs on scholarship.

Two backs, or not two backs? That is the question Tony Alford frequently faces when he is assessing how many players to give regular carries at Ohio State.

With six scholarship running backs (Master Teague III, Marcus Crowley, Steele Chambers, Miyan Williams, TreVeyeon Henderson and Evan Pryor) on hand this spring, the topic inevitably came up again this week when Alford spoke with reporters.

It might not be Shakespeare, but it can be dramatic.

The veteran coach seemed a little irked by the implication rotating backs has not worked out during his time in Columbus, but he took it in stride.

“I say this all the time,” Alford replied. “I said it last year. I said it two years ago. I said it three years ago. I said it my entire career and I’m gonna say it again: We’re gonna do whatever we need to do to win games. And some people might say the two-back system or thing hasn’t worked — at the end of the day we’re here to win games. And we say it hasn’t worked, well, we won a lot of games around here. We haven’t won the big one like we want to in the past two years. Now was that attributed because we played two backs or one back? That’s debatable, but we’re going to do whatever we need to do to win games, and if it’s one guy — a bell cow as we like to say — then it shall be, and if it’s not, then it’s fine.”

Later in the same interview, Alford acknowledged being the No. 1 back as a player at Colorado State in 1989 did have its advantages for him, but he also pointed out offenses have changed in the past 30 years since he was a 1,000yard rusher for Earle Bruce (who ironically was a Woody Hayes disciple and former Ohio State

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