When asked what he thought of current Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, an ex-Buckeye bruiser didn't stutter.
"Heisman Trophy," Chris "Beanie" Wells said Friday night after the All-Star Celebrity Bowl out at New Albany High School.
With the way Elliott finished off his sophomore season — a year which ended in Ohio State taking home the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship — such beliefs are frankly expected.
Elliott torched Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon in the post-season for 696 yards and eight touchdowns, earning offensive MVP honors in the title game against Oregon and firmly solidifying himself as the Heisman frontrunner for 2015.
Elliott entered as a 6/1 favorite, but his odds have slipped a touch since January. As Eleven Warriors' own Nicholas Jervey discussed Sunday, it's going to be an uphill battle for the junior from St. Louis to take home college football's most prestigious honor.
The talk isn't going to stop, however, and Elliott doing what he needs to do in order to head to New York in December is by no means going to be easy.
Raised expectations from last year's numbers, tough competition from top players all across the country in addition to the stable of offensive talent Urban Meyer and Ed Warinner have to play with will all factor against Elliott in 2015.
Wells, who ran for more than 3,300 yards and 30 touchdowns from 2006-08 under Jim Tressel, is wary of the obstacles in Elliott's path.
"I mean the only thing that can stop Zeke from winning the Heisman is not having enough balls to go around on the team," Wells said.
He's not wrong, but are the expectations already being set too high for a kid who underwent his second wrist surgery in a span of six months in February?
It can be seen both ways. It is the offseason after all, so any storyline is open for debate. But then again, Elliott wasn't even named to the All-Big Ten's first or second teams last year.
He made waves when it mattered most, though, meshing with the Ohio State offensive line at the absolute perfect time. Meyer and Herman didn't stop giving him the ball because they would have been stupid to do so, no matter how many weapons were available on offense.
Tressel's ball control, grind it out offense frustrated Ohio State fans for a decade. Meyer's wide-open spread assault complemented with a power attack either from the quarterback (see: Tim Tebow) or a runner like Elliott has revolutionized the game. When he has the pieces in place, Meyer's offense is extremely difficult to stop.
How much will a player like Jalin Marshall impede Elliott's chance at the Heisman?
He has them in place right now with Elliott, Jalin Marshall, Michael Thomas, Nick Vannett, Dontre Wilson and whoever plays quarterback between the three-headed monster of J.T. Barrett, Braxton Miller and Cardale Jones. The list is extensive.
But with all that talent on the edges and the quarterbacks showing the capability to throw the ball with consistency, when Elliott does get his touches, the chance he nets big yardage is high.
"The good thing is, spread offense, what it does is it causes gaps, it causes lanes," Maurice Clarett said Friday. "So you have bigger lanes running through and then you have somebody who can throw the ball down the field, you adjust the coverages back and it makes it a bit easier."
Clarett ran for more than 1,200 yards and 16 scores while helping the Buckeyes win the 2002 national title in his lone season at Ohio State. His absence from the offense was ubiquitous in 2003, serving a year-long suspension to watch Lydell Ross and Craig Krenzel struggle. The unit just wasn't the same.
That's not the case in 2015. If Elliott goes down with an injury or any other reason, Ohio State has proven weapons everywhere to pick up the slack. The pressure on him to be the first Buckeye since Troy Smith in 2006 to win the Heisman, though — fair or not — isn't going away.
"It wouldn't be a disappointment," Wells said, "but I fully expect him to win the Heisman."
