Buckeyes to look at shortening RB rotation
Ohio State brought four scholarship running backs to last week's season opener at Minnesota.
It got all of them on the field.
In their 45-31 victory, the Buckeyes divvied up carries between Marcus Crowley, Treveyon Henderson, Master Teague and Miyan Williams.
But as they head into Week 2, bringing an anticipated matchup against Oregon, the highest-ranked team on their schedule, coach Ryan Day said they would look to shorten the rotation.
“Moving into this game, that's probably the goal,” Day said.
Williams, a redshirt freshman who got the starting nod, led the team with nine carries, rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown, while veterans Teague and Crowley were close behind with six carries apiece. Henderson ran twice for 15 yards, and the true freshman showed to be a dynamic playmaker as a receiver when he turned a screen pass into a 70-yard score early in the fourth quarter.
A smaller rotation could allow the running backs an opportunity to establish a rhythm.
Still, a challenge for the staff in settling on a couple of running backs to see a bulk of the workload against the Ducks on Saturday will be the limited number of plays to evaluate from the first game.
“I don't remember being in a game with that few of plays,” Day said.
Due to Minnesota milking the game clock, holding possession for 39 minutes, and their own offense scoring in explosive fashion, the Buckeyes ran only 48 plays. It was their fewest in a game since a 17-14 loss to Michigan State in late 2015. For context, they averaged almost 75
plays per game over the first two seasons of Day's tenure.
“It's hard over just a handful of plays to make some hard decisions,” Day said, “but we're going to do that and try to figure out what's best to win this game.”
Day said he provides input, but the rotation at the position is left up to running backs coach Tony Alford.
Health statuses TBD
The health of safety Josh Proctor, as well as cornerbacks Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown, will likely remain unknown until closer to Saturday's kickoff.
Day declined on Tuesday to address their statuses until the team releases an availability report later in the week.
Proctor left the game at Minnesota
with an apparent shoulder injury and did not return following the fourth-quarter exit.
Neither Banks nor Brown played in the opener, though Day said in the aftermath that he hoped they might be ready by the time they faced Oregon.
Banks did travel with the team and was in uniform, appearing close to being availability. Day said he was available in an “emergency role.”
Their absences prompted the Buckeyes to start true freshman Denzel Burke and redshirt freshman Ryan Watts at the outside cornerback spots.
Two starting defensive backs return for Oregon
The Buckeyes will see a beefed-up secondary from Oregon, which will have safety Jamal Hill and cornerback DJ James available after they were suspended for the Ducks' season opener against Fresno State.
Both defensive backs were involved in an incident with airsoft guns in Eugene last month, allegedly firing from a moving vehicle and striking someone in the face.
The Register-guard reported that they were charged with two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangering and disorderly conduct.
Hill and James both were projected as starters entering this season.
Interior rotation
Buckeyes defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs suggested load management contributed to a decision to start Taron Vincent over Haskell Garrett at defensive tackle last week.
“The length of training camp and the amount of snaps guys were able to take based on injury or things made a difference,” Coombs said.
Garrett started in the interior last fall and entered this season as one of Ohio State's four preseason All-americans.
Though Garrett was not in on the initial series, he was a big part of the rotation, appearing on the field for 47 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Vincent saw 49.
Poll watch
Ohio State rose to No. 3 in both the latest Associated Press and coaches' polls, moving up a spot as a result of Clemson's loss to Georgia. The Buckeyes are behind only top-ranked Alabama and Georgia, which leaped to No. 2.