The old jabs about Urban Meyer never having a 1,000-yard running back have been a thing of the past for a while now. With Mike Weber's performance against Michigan State, Meyer has now seen three different tailbacks reach that mark.
| PLAYER | SEASON | GAMES | ATTEMPTS | YARDS | YPC | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CARLOS HYDE | 2013 | 14 | 208 | 1,521 | 7.3 | 15 |
| EZEKIEL ELLIOTT | 2014 | 15 | 273 | 1,878 | 6.9 | 18 |
| EZEKIEL ELLIOTT | 2015 | 13 | 289 | 1,821 | 6.3 | 23 |
| MIKE WEBER | 2016 | 11 | 152+ | 1,000+ | 6.2 | 8 |
Weber needed 65 yards against the Spartans to break into that category. He did that on a 52-yard rush in the second half. The rush gave him 1,029 yards on the year.
Weber finished the drive with a 4-yard scoring run three plays later to give Ohio State a 16-10 lead, its first of the game.
Ohio State has now had a running back eclipse 1,000 yards for four consecutive seasons and it only took Weber 11 games to join some elite company
Weber joins Carlos Hyde (2013) and Ezekiel Elliott (2014, 2015) as Buckeye backs to push their rushing totals into four figures.
Wow 1000 ... yeahhhhh slobs
— Mike Weber (@mikeweberjr) November 19, 2016
The redshirt freshman also joins some elite company in terms of program history—only two other Buckeye freshmen have ever topped 1,000 yards. Robert Smith rushed for 1,126 yards as a true freshman in 1990 while Maurice Clarett ran for 1,237 during the 2002 National Championship campaign.
