Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott Belongs Among Big Ten's Best

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the moments following Ohio State's Oct. 18 win over Rutgers, Ezekiel Elliott stood at the podium inside Ohio Stadium's media center, answering questions about the Buckeyes' 56-17 victory. But as reporters scattered to various players, questions became sparse, so I decided to take a stab at at an offhand topic.

"Zeke, I've gotta ask you about something on social media," I prefaced, as the Ohio State running back's eyes got big.

"Fans seem to love that you wear the half-shirt, the Eddie George-like shirt. Can you explain why you choose to go with that type of jersey?"

"I just like my jersey tucked up because I don't like how long the jerseys are," said a relieved Elliott, now wearing a smile. "I like a little midriff showing. A lot of great players have worn it before me like Eddie George, so I'm going to keep wearing it that way."

The "crop top," as fans call it, may not be the key to Elliott's success in his sophomore season, but it certainly hasn't hurt, as the St. Louis, Missouri, native finds himself on the verge of becoming Urban Meyer's second consecutive 1,000-yard running back. Through 10 games, Elliott has tallied 954 rushing yards on 167 carries, an astounding 5.7 yards per carry, good for fifth in the Big Ten for players who have totaled 100 or more carries.

But Elliott's sophomore surge seems to have been somewhat lost in the shuffle in Columbus during a 2014 campaign that has the sixth-ranked Buckeyes currently fighting for a playoff spot. The Heisman campaign of quarterback J.T. Barrett has something to do with that, but Elliott's status as Ohio State's best kept secret has more to do with the conference he plays in and the running backs who dominate it.

Take for example Indiana's Tevin Coleman, who rushed for 307 yards in the Hoosiers' defeat at the hands of Rutgers last Saturday. Despite coming in a loss, that effort would typically be a shoo-in to earn any player a Big Ten Player of the Week honor, only that wasn't the case, as Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon eclipsed Coleman with a record-setting 408-yard, four-touchdown performance.

Week in and week out, Meyer has seen just how talented this year's crop of Big Ten running backs is. Whether it's Michigan State's Jeremy Langford, Minnesota's David Cobb or this weekend's upcoming matchup with Coleman, Ohio State has faced no shortage of impressive backs on its schedule in a league that prides itself on its ground-and-pound mentality.

"There's some NFL players in this league carrying the ball," Meyer said. "And then you see that they're doing it against some of the top rush defenses in the country. That's one thing I noticed about it.

"And I think Zeke—I've got to throw my guy in there now. For whatever reason, he's not having the same touches, but I like our back."

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Meyer's right: As Ohio State has opted to use Barrett's ability as a distributor to spread the ball around, Elliott's touches have become a bystander. The Show-Me State native's 167 carries are at least 36 fewer than any of the five Big Ten backs ranked ahead of him in rushing, as Elliott has received single-digit carries in three separate games this season.

Nevertheless, the 6'0", 225-pound Elliott has managed to make the most of his touches, and more importantly, he's shown up when it's mattered most. In the Buckeyes' monumental win over Michigan State on Nov. 8, Elliott totaled 154 yards and two touchdowns, a week before tallying 110 total yards in Ohio State's grind-it-out victory at Minnesota.

Those are the types of numbers Elliott envisioned when he committed to the Buckeyes, choosing Ohio State over the home team, Missouri. Meyer may have never had a 1,000-yard running back when Elliott opted to bring his talents to Columbus, but he's now on the verge of his second straight after Carlos Hyde became his first a season ago.

"I'm just a versatile back who can do a lot of things," Elliott said. "I take a lot of pride in my blocking. I can catch the ball out of the backfield. I can run it inside and outside."

And while he may not get the same national credit as Barrett, Elliott has played a key role in diversifying the Buckeyes offense this season, adding 18 receptions for 162 yards to his stat line. As teams early in the season tested Barrett's arm with bear defense, cover-zero schemes, it was Elliott who played the role of "bear beater," using swing passes to take opponents out of their original looks.

More years than not, Elliott's ability would garner him more attention, perhaps putting him up for a few awards of his own. But as Coleman learned this past week, this year's stable of Big Ten running backs is something special, something which Elliott has already taken note of.

"We definitely have the best crop of running backs in the Big Ten," he said. "You've just got to be thankful to God for the opportunities and just go out there and keep grinding."

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.