How Will Ohio State Move The Ball in 2016? For Starters, It'll Be More Diverse Than Last Year, According to Ed Warinner

Keeping defenses guessing is half the battle when you try to move the ball against them, unless you have a horse that needs fed.

Such was the case for the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes. Ezekiel Elliott was the animal that demanded touches early and often throughout the course of the season. If he didn't get the ball, the offense often struggled, especially with Urban Meyer trying to figure out what to do at quarterback for more than two months.

It all came to a point to a disappointing 17-14 loss at home to Michigan State, an outcome that kept Ohio State out of the Big Ten Championship Game and ultimately the College Football Playoff.

Ed Warinner moved to the press box after that game at the request of Meyer and sent down run-heavy play calls for both Elliott and quarterback J.T. Barrett against Michigan and Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State had a distinct advantage in both of those matchups on the ground, with a strong and experienced offensive line paving the way against depleted opposing defensive fronts.

The calendar now shows 2016, with Ohio State's spring practice set to ramp up in earnest Tuesday after Spring Break. Elliott is gone to the NFL along with a bulk of other starters from the 2015 offense, so as a result you can expect Ohio State won't just be turning and handing the ball to whoever wins the starting running back job in order to move the chains with consistency this fall.

"It has to be different. Every team is different," Warinner said March 10. "We’ll just manufacture our yards in other ways. It won’t be just a one-man show or leaning on one guy. It’ll be more spread around."

Warinner and Meyer both have already said this spring they hope for the pace and tempo of how Ohio State moved the ball at the end of last year to carry over. It gave the Buckeyes an advantage against the Wolverines and Fighting Irish, and the staff feels it has the right athletes in place and conditioned under the wand of Mickey Marotti to go quick and then even quicker.

“We’ll just manufacture our yards in other ways. It won’t be just a one-man show or leaning on one guy. It’ll be more spread around.”– Ed Warinner

"Everything is getting the ball out fast, quick, hustle," Meyer said March 8. "We’re going to do a lot more uptempo offense than we’ve done."

That falls on Barrett, who is responsible of distributing the ball with haste and accuracy. It also sits on the shoulders of young offensive talent like Mike Weber, Torrance Gibson, Austin Mack, K.J. Hill and older heads Bri'onte Dunn, Curtis Samuel, Corey Smith, Noah Brown and others. Those names are set to be featured parts of the offense in 2016, provided they can stay healthy.

Put it all together and Warinner claims it will keep defenses guessing.

"I think Mike Weber can be really good and Bri’onte Dunn has had two really good days so I see those two guys really leading the pack at running back," Warinner said. "You mix up the rushing yards between those two guys. Then you look at, it’s not going to be one or two wide receivers, we’re going to have six guys that are getting the ball."

That sounds swell in principle, but is something Meyer said he's shot for since he's been at Ohio State. Sooner or later, however, the offense must do what works to gain yards and score points. In 2012, that meant a whole bunch of Braxton Miller. The next year, Miller, Carlos Hyde and an NFL offensive line.

During the 2014 season, a more balanced attack (3,967 rushing yards, 3,707 passing) led to a national title. Last year, it tilted back to the rushing side of the scale.

The passing offense wasn't what many expected to see, but Ohio State sees the pieces in place for the unit to vary from the ground and pound attack we saw in 2015.

"Distribution is going to be different and maybe that’s the way you get people," Warinner said. "They don’t know where it’s going, keep people off-balanced with diversity."