Urban Meyer knew he had a difference maker even before spring ball began as early enrollee J.K. Dobbins showed the talent and maturity of an upperclassman.
Smartly, Meyer slow-played the media, avoiding a heap of unrealistic expectations being heaped upon the true freshman out of La Grange, Texas.
Of course, high expectations couldn't be avoided as Dobbins dominated scrimmages drawing rave reviews from his teammates before introducing himself to Ohio State fans with 181 rushing yards against Indiana in the season opener, good enough for the most by a Buckeye freshman making his debut.
Dobbins would rush for at least 100 yards five more times during his 13 collegiate games-to-date despite sharing carries with Mike Weber and J.T. Barrett.
Even with the job-sharing, Dobbins' season-to-date stacks up pretty favorably with Ohio State's other leading tailbacks during the Meyer era.
| YEAR | TAILBACK | GAMES | ATT | ATT/G | GAIN | LOSS | NET | YPC | TD | AVG YDS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | J.K. DOBBINS | 13 | 181 | 13.9 | 1373 | 9 | 1364 | 7.5 | 7 | 104.9 |
| 2016 | M. WEBER | 13 | 182 | 14.0 | 1119 | 23 | 1096 | 6.0 | 9 | 84.3 |
| 2015 | E. ELLIOTT | 13 | 289 | 22.5 | 1874 | 53 | 1821 | 6.3 | 23 | 140.1 |
| 2014 | E. ELLIOTT | 15 | 273 | 18.2 | 1925 | 47 | 1878 | 6.9 | 18 | 125.2 |
| 2013 | C. HYDE | 11 | 208 | 18.9 | 1527 | 6 | 1521 | 7.3 | 15 | 138.3 |
| 2012 | C. HYDE | 10 | 227 | 22.7 | 995 | 25 | 970 | 5.2 | 16 | 97.0 |
Tallying the fewest attempts per game of any leading rusher over the last six years, Dobbins currently slots at the top in yards per carry, is second in total yards lost from scrimmage and fourth in rushing yards per game.
Again, those limited carries likely kept him from an even greater inaugural season as Barrett and Weber have thus far combined for 245 carries compared to 181 for Dobbins.
From a team aspect, this is certainly a good problem to have as Weber's return to health gave Ohio State a late-season boost.
On solid footing as he compares to his contemporaries of the Meyer era, Dobbins stacks up even better against fellow true freshman to rush for at least 1,000 yards in Columbus.
| YEAR | PLAYER | GAMES | ATT | ATT/G | GAIN | LOSS | NET | YPC | TD | AVG YDS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | J.K. DOBBINS | 13 | 181 | 13.9 | 1373 | 9 | 1364 | 7.5 | 7 | 104.9 |
| 2002 | M. CLARETT | 11 | 222 | 20.2 | 1266 | 29 | 1237 | 5.6 | 16 | 112.5 |
| 1990 | R. SMITH | 12 | 177 | 14.8 | 1147 | 21 | 1126 | 6.4 | 8 | 93.8 |
A theme of sorts, Dobbins is currently on pace to have the fewest carries per game compared to Maurice Clarett in 2002 and Robert Smith in 1990.
Dobbins dusts the competition with a ridiculous 7.5 yards per carry (more on that in a minute) and fewest yards lost from scrimmage while his 104.9 rushing yards per game slots just behind Clarett's 112.5.
Side note, Clarett's 112.5 yards per game on 5.6 was pretty amazing considering how one-dimensional and conservative that offense tended to be as it averaged 364 yards of total offense and the starting quarterback completed less than 60% of his throws. And not only that, much of Clarett's production came as he battled injuries.
| YEAR | PLAYER | YPC |
|---|---|---|
| 2017* | J.K. DOBBINS | 7.5 |
| 2013 | C. HYDE | 7.3 |
| 2014 | E. ELLIOTT | 6.9 |
| 1974 | A. GRIFFIN | 6.6 |
| 1980 | C. MURRAY | 6.5 |
| 1990 | R. SMITH | 6.4 |
| 1973 | A. GRIFFIN | 6.4 |
| 2015 | E. ELLIOTT | 6.3 |
| 1998 | M. WILEY | 6.2 |
| 2016 | M. WEBER | 6.0 |
Getting back to Dobbins' 7.5 yards per carry, that season-to-date tally doesn't get the run it deserves.
Should Dobbins do enough against USC in the Cotton Bowl to maintain that average, or at least enough to avoid slipping to less than 7.4, the kid will finish with the highest single-season yards per carry mark of any Buckeye to lead his team in rushing since the school began tracking the stat back in 1944.
This reality is why it was kind of dumb to hear folks complaining about Dobbins getting tackled from behind on long runs a few times over the last couple games.
The kid is a gash machine on pace to average more yards per carry this year than any Heisman Trophy winner and/or legendary running back in the history of Ohio State football.
Look at that list to the right.
Suppose Dobbins goes out against USC and has what would be equal to his worst game of the year – 12 carries for 51 yards against Illinois – he would still finish at the top of heap with 7.33 yards per carry (193 att, 1,415 yds), just ahead of Carlos Hyde's 7.31 back in 2013 (208 att, 1,521 yds).
