Ohio State Football: 3 Biggest Hurdles to Ezekiel Elliott's Heisman Trophy Run

There were 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship last January when Ezekiel Elliott took a handoff near the goal line, burst through the Oregon defense and drove in for his fourth touchdown of the night.

It was the exclamation point on a brilliant performance for the rising sophomore, who earned MVP honors in each of Ohio State's playoff victories over Alabama and Oregon. It also served as a prelude for a 2015 season in which Elliott has been marked as the definitive Heisman Trophy front-runner, according to Bovada (h/t Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated). 

But there are certain hurdles Elliott must overcome to win college football's most prestigious award. From playing an overlooked position, sharing the ball with too many playmakers and competing with Heisman-worthy quarterbacks in his own backfield, Elliott's path to New York City may be a tough one to navigate.

The Undervalued Running Backs

The biggest thing working against Elliott may be the position he plays.

Running backs used to dominate the Heisman Trophy voting. From 1970 to 1999, 18 ball-carriers won the award, compared to just nine quarterbacks taking the trophy home. But at the turn of the century, the Heisman Trophy fraternity started to look more like a quarterback club.

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Just two running backs—Reggie Bush and Mark Ingram—have won a Heisman since 2000, and Bush's trophy was forfeited in the wake of NCAA violations. Running backs such as Montee Ball (2011) and Melvin Gordon (2014) certainly put up Heisman-like numbers during their final collegiate seasons, but both fell short to quarterbacks in the final voting.

Will Elliott suffer the same fate? 

The Bevy of Playmakers

When Urban Meyer took over at Ohio State, he inherited a team that was short on playmakers. His leading receiver (Devin Smith) was coming off of a 14-reception, 295-yard receiving year. His leading rusher was his quarterback (Braxton Miller), and he didn't have the type of speedy H-back that made his offenses at Florida so potent. 

"At Ohio State, you should walk off the field going, `Wow! Who are those two guys?'" Meyer said back in 2012, according to Mike Peticca of the Plain Dealer. "I still today haven't done that."

But after stockpiling talent at Ohio State with recruiting classes that ranked fifth, second, third and seventh nationally, according to 247Sports, there's plenty of talent ready to take the field in Columbus this fall. 

It starts on the perimeter at the wideout position. Michael Thomas is primed for a big season and could become the first Buckeye receiver to surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark since 2002. Corey Smith had an outstanding spring, highlighted by a spring game performance when he caught six passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes also have depth with hybrid players such as Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Noah Brown.

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Will the talent on the perimeter take carries away from Elliott? Or will it even matter if it does? Against Wisconsin and Alabama last season—two of the better defenses Ohio State faced—Elliott ran the ball just 20 times in each game and still managed to rush for 450 total yards and four touchdowns.

The Talented Quarterbacks

The quarterback quandary at Ohio State won't be settled until the midway point of fall camp, and while there's uncertainty about who will win the starting job, it's a near inevitability that the winner will go on to earn some Heisman attention himself.

Will it be Cardale Jones, who lifted the Buckeyes over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon during a historic run through the 2014 postseason? Will J.T. Barrett recover from his broken ankle to recapture the starting role he thrived in during a breakout and record-setting freshman campaign last year? Or will Miller prove his shoulder is ready for full contact and return his electric playmaking ability to the Buckeyes offense?

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Whoever wins the job will certainly hold the keys to Ohio State's high-flying offense, and he'll put up some gaudy stats running Meyer's system. If said quarterback is good enough to warrant Heisman Trophy consideration, that will naturally pull votes from Elliott and toward his quarterback.

That, in addition to the balance of talent in the offense and the fact that he plays an often overlooked position when it comes to Heisman voters, will make it more difficult for Elliott to win the Heisman in 2015. 

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.