Curtis Samuel twisted his body, dove away from a defender whose hands were draped all over him and snatched a rifle of a pass from Cardale Jones out of the air in the end zone.
The terrific catch marked Samuel's first touch of the 2015 season; it also doubled as the first touchdown of Ohio State's national title defense.
The pass from Jones to Samuel put the Buckeyes out front, 6-0, against Virginia Tech Labor Day night, and provided a glimpse of the pure talent the sophomore possesses. It again showed why Urban Meyer had to pluck him from Brooklyn and bring him to Ohio State.
"I think the world of him," Meyer said Tuesday of Samuel on the Big Ten teleconference.
It's because of that admiration and Samuel's skill set that led Meyer to push him from the running back spot he played in 2014 to H-back this season. With Heisman Trophy contender Ezekiel Elliott deserving his own touches out of the backfield, Meyer had to find a new way to put Samuel in a situation where he could contribute.
"I want to make sure he’s in a position, that's why I moved him away from Zeke," Meyer said.
Admittedly, Samuel's position coach, Zach Smith, said they were still trying to find the best place for him to play heading into the season. His abilities aren't hard to see, but where would be play?
“He was a running back, and does he go back afterwards? He could. Those are questions we'll answer when Zeke's not here. I think he’s going to have two-and-a-half great years here.”– Urban Meyer on Curtis Samuel
"I don’t know,” Smith said Ohio State’s media day. “He’s Curtis. He’s a wideout, he’s a receiver. The H-receiver, whatever you want to call it, he’s a hybrid. He meets with me, he sits in my room, I coach him."
It seemed like he'd be heavily involved coming out of camp, especially with Samuel's first reception of 2015 being a touchdown, but his contributions since have been hit or miss either at receiver, running back and H-back.
Samuel's numbers through eight games are by no means poor — 15 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns, as well as 12 carries for 103 yards and a score — but 27 touches through eight games isn't as many as Meyer would have liked.
"The reason we moved him is because he had to be on the field," Meyer said. "You can't just do what we did last year with him, cleans up after Zeke plays."
However, an ailing hamstring issue and back spasms kept Samuel out of his normal snap totals during the middle of the first eight games of Ohio State's season. Against Indiana, Maryland and Penn State, he only touched the ball three times.
"He’s had a couple setbacks with hamstring and lower back issues," Meyer said. "Wasn't able to give us as many plays, but he's starting to get healthy again."
If that's true, then we could see more plays like the 40-yard sprint to the end zone against Western Michigan where Samuel shook a defender before scoring or the 30-yard touchdown catch from J.T. Barrett this past weekend against Rutgers.
"I still like playing running back. I just want to help my game out, be able to do different things on the field so I can play a little bit more," Samuel said Sept. 26 after Ohio State's 38-12 victory over the Broncos, the last time he spoke to reporters. "Whether it’s going in the slot, giving Zeke a little break when he’s tired or whatever it is, I’ll just go in the backfield and keep the momentum going and try to play up to his level or even better."
That's the mindset that earned Samuel playing time and even a start in 2014 as a freshman. Meyer seems confident and anxious for him to earn a clean bill of health as Ohio State heads into the home stretch of its season.
The head coach sees a bright future ahead for Samuel.
"He was a running back, and does he go back afterwards? He could. Those are questions we'll answer when Zeke's not here," Meyer said. "I think he’s going to have two-and-a-half great years here."
