Curtis Samuel did about as much as one player could last season for Ohio State.
Samuel carried the ball out of the backfield. He played inside and outside wide receiver. He returned punts. Anything short of starting on the offensive line or actually throwing a pass, Samuel did it for the Buckeyes' offense during his junior season.
So it probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise he wants to do the same in the NFL. And at Ohio State's annual pro day Thursday afternoon at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the Brooklyn native put his well-rounded skill set on full display.
Samuel opted not to run the 40-yard dash — he ran a 4.31 at the NFL Combine last month so there wasn't really a need — but he did go through a series of on-field positional drills at wide receiver, running back and punt returner.
He worked out strictly with the wide receivers at the Combine, so it was important he showcased his full arsenal of skills Thursday.
"As you see today, I did inside receiver, outside receiver and ran some routes out of the backfield and did some running back drills at the end of the receiver stuff and caught some punts," he said afterward. "I did a whole bunch of stuff today and I’m just trying to expand my role wherever teams want me.”
Samuel is a tough projection for many because he doesn't have a natural fit having played both wide receiver and running back at Ohio State. He is one of the few mystery men in this year's NFL Draft.
Samuels' numbers from his junior season only solidify that. He had 865 receiving yards, 771 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns in 13 games last season for the Buckeyes. Samuel averaged 9.6 yards per touch.
But perhaps Samuel would be best at the next level if the team that drafts him doesn't try to pigeonhole him into one thing. That's a big reason why he wanted to do running back drills in addition to wide receiver drills at Pro Day.
“I played a lot of receiver and did a lot of running plays during the season but I really just wanted to show that I’m capable of doing both," Samuel said. "They used me here at both so I wanted to show at the next level that I could do both.”
Samuel said he's been in contact with "a bunch" of teams recently and that he has several private workouts coming up, though he did not specify which teams those were scheduled to be with.
He figures to be a second-round pick, but it's pretty clear after Thursday's workout what the team that selects Samuel will be getting: a player who can do it all.
"Wherever teams want me," Samuel said, "I look forward to doing that."
