With starting RB Carlos Hyde suspended for at least the first three games of the season, Ohio State's backfield will be in the spotlight when fall camp opens Sunday.
There are no worries at quarterback, where junior Braxton Miller is a Heisman candidate. But without Hyde, while there is talent, there are no proven running backs on the roster.
It seems likely that junior Rod Smith (6-feet-3, 238 pounds) will get first crack at Hyde's vacated starting spot. But Smith has just 20 carries in his career; Hyde had four games last season with at least 22 carries. (Smith's younger brother, Jaylon, is a highly touted true freshman linebacker at Notre Dame who was a consensus national top-10 recruit in the 2013 signing class.)
Like the 242-pound Hyde, Smith is a physical runner who would seem to fit the mold of the running back needed for coach Urban Meyer's run-heavy version of the spread. Sophomore Bri'onte Dunn (6-0, 222) and true freshman Ezekiel Elliott (6-0, 210) would seem to be the other top candidates at the position.
Miller was Ohio State's leading rusher last season with 1,271 yards. Hyde rushed for 970 yards and was second in the Big Ten with 16 rushing TDs. Interestingly, Meyer never has had a running back rush for 1,000 yards in his 11 seasons as a head coach.
Meanwhile, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported that Buckeyes junior All-American CB Bradley Roby has a pretrial conference scheduled for Aug. 26 in Bloomington, Ind.; that is five days before Ohio State's opener against Buffalo. Roby was arrested July 21 and charged with battery resulting in bodily injury for an incident at a Bloomington bar.
