As Ohio State went through spring practice last season, there was a freshman early enrollee head coach Urban Meyer couldn't stop ranting and raving about: a 5-foot-10, 190-pound kid from Brooklyn named Curtis Samuel.
Meyer proclaimed in an interview with ESPN that Samuel had "stolen his heart" with the way he played the game. He loved his combination of power, speed and toughness.
Meyer recruited Samuel with the idea he'd be a perfect fit for the H-back position in his offense. But the more reps Samuel got in spring ball, the more Meyer realized he'd be great for the Buckeyes at running back.
“The guy that’s in the rotation already is Curtis Samuel,” Meyer said last spring.
That translated to on-field success in the fall for the true freshman. Samuel was Ohio State's No. 2 running back for the majority of the season behind Ezekiel Elliott. He ran for 383 yards on 58 carries — an eye-popping 6.6 yards per carry — and six touchdowns in 2014 as a true freshman. He looked so good early on, in fact, many started to wonder whether it was Samuel, not Elliott, who was Ohio State's best running back.
As the season progressed, though, it became clear Elliott was the No. 1 option at the position and Samuel's touches decreased slightly. Elliott went on to have one of the more incredible three-game runs in recent college football history as he racked up 696 yards and eight touchdowns leading the Buckeyes to a national championship.
“[Samuel] is a guy we’re trying to evaluate as a playmaker. We think he’s very talented and you’ve gotta get your playmakers on the field.”– Ed Warinner
But with that said, Samuel still saw his fair share of action. And with Elliott back this season it gives Ohio State a pair of dynamic running backs.
Elliott will no doubt be "the guy" in the backfield in 2015 – he's a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate – but there's still a role out there for Samuel. He'll likely be the No. 2 back when fall camp opens, but during the Buckeyes' fourth practice of the spring last Thursday, something jumped out: Samuel was taking reps with the wide receivers.
“He’s a guy we’re trying to evaluate as a playmaker," Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said of the situation following Thursday's practice. "We think he’s very talented and you’ve gotta get your playmakers on the field."
It's an interesting development, but not necessarily a huge surprise being that Meyer recruited Samuel to play the H-position, which is part of the wide receiver group.
"I thought he’d be more of a wide receiver-slash guy," Meyer said following the 2014 spring game. "Eventually he might, but he’s legitimate running the ball."
The Buckeyes have only two guys taking reps at running back now with Samuel currently working with the wideouts. Elliott is recovering from offseason wrist surgery so he's being held out leaving Bri'onte Dunn as the No. 1 running back and Warren Ball as the second-team guy.
Ohio State also has a highly-touted guy coming in in the fall in four-star prospect Mike Weber. That certainly leaves the Buckeyes with options pertaining to Samuel. Being such a versatile player certainly opens a lot of doors.
"He has good hands, he can run routes so his role can be a lot of different places," Warinner said. "We’re just trying to figure out how he can help this offense as a playmaker.”
It's a question of where Samuel will play right now, not if. But there's no doubt he's another toy for Meyer and Warinner to use in their explosive offense.
