Ohio State Football: Buckeye Running Backs Making Noise in New Offense

Ohio State's offense got a huge spark of life on Wednesday as they "won" for the first time in spring practice.

The keys to the first practice win for the offense lay in their deep running back corps, namely Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall.

Those two backs gained great experience from last season while Dan Herron served his six-game suspension for his role in the tattoo scandal.

Hall has had a major role as a backup back with the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, which he didn't do as much of in the Jim Tressel offense as he should in Urban Meyer's passing game.

He took a little step back last year along with the rest of the offense, showing little of the wiggle and quickness that made him a dynamic player the year before.

Hall will likely be the feature back in the Buckeye spread/zone-read offense, with third-year back Carlos Hyde being the power option in the run game.

Hyde had some big moments last year as well, including a big 64-yard touchdown run at Nebraska.

He had the play of the day on Wednesday when he caught the defense napping on a Braxton Miller scramble and caught a pass and took it 75 yards for the touchdown, showing he not only has the power, but the speed to be a huge player.

Hyde's pure strength at just about 240 lbs makes him the perfect I-formation running back, which he showed last year rushing for 566 yards on just over 100 carries and finding the end zone six times, second-most behind Miller.

He isn't exactly the prototype spread running back, but he is the type of back Meyer never had at Florida—pure power.

We don't know enough about what the new Ohio State offense will look like, but what we know about Meyer is that he tries to find ways to get the most out of his best players.

With that in mind, odds are that there will be some I-formation looks for Hyde to be able to use his power in short-yardage and goal-line packages.

Rod Smith has shown some ability and will be available as a third running back, and freshman Brionte Dunn might get some action as well if he is able to have a strong finish to the spring.

Ohio State's offense might not have the best group of playmakers at this moment, but they do have plenty of skill at the running back position.

If they play well, it takes a lot of pressure off of Miller and will make the whole offense much, much better.

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