clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Urban Meyer had zero 1,000-yard rushers before Ohio State. Now, J.K. Dobbins could be his 7th.

Each of Meyer’s first five seasons in Columbus have included at least one 1,000-yard rusher.

J.K. Dobbins
Joe Maiorana

If there was one concern with Urban Meyer when he signed on to become the next head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, it was that no team of his ever had a 1,000-yard rusher.

That’s kind of a thing in Columbus. Especially when your program is built on the legs of prolific runners. Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Beanie Wells, and more recently Ezekiel Elliott, just to name a few.

But any doubts surrounding Meyer’s ability to coach runner were quickly put to rest.

Each of his first five seasons at OSU have included a 1,000-yard rusher. He’s coached six total, with Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde both crossing the mark in 2013.

Here’s a full list of the Buckeyes that’ve ran for at least 1,000 yards with Meyer at the helm.

Urban Meyer’s Top Rushers at Ohio State

Year Name Rushing Yards Yards per carry Rushing Touchdowns
Year Name Rushing Yards Yards per carry Rushing Touchdowns
2012 Braxton Miller 1,271 5.6 13
2013 Braxton Miller 1,068 6.2 12
2013 Carlos Hyde 1,521 7.3 15
2014 Ezekiel Elliott 1,878 6.9 18
2015 Ezekiel Elliott 1,821 6.3 23
2016 Mike Weber Jr. 1,096 6 9

At the pace freshman phenom J.K. Dobbins is going, Meyer will tally his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard rusher this season.

Dobbins has churned out 573 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. He racked up 205 yards of offense Week 1 in Bloomington and had a 172-yard, two-touchdown performance against Army.

Despite the extra rest that the coaching staff is giving him – coupled with the return of Mike Weber – he’ll still likely to break 1,000 yards.

In 10 seasons of coaching before OSU – at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida – the closest thing Meyer had to a big-time runner was Utah’s Brandon Warfield.

He totaled 976 yards on the ground during the 2003 season. Tim Tebow was the only other player to reach 900 rushing yards under Meyer.

And you would’ve thought Tebow had surpassed 1,000 yards at Florida, but he never really came close. As a starter, Tebow finished his Heisman Trophy winning campaign in 2007 with 895 rushing yards, 2008 with 673 yards, and 2009 with 910 yards.

Below is a chart of Meyer’s top three rushers throughout his coaching career.

Urban Meyer’s Career Top Rushers

Year, School, & Name Attempts Average Yards Per Carry Rushing Yards
Year, School, & Name Attempts Average Yards Per Carry Rushing Yards
2001 - Bowling Green
Josh Harris 126 4.9 614
Joe Alls 129 4.3 553
John Gibson 97 4.6 444
2002 - Bowling Green
Joe Alls 122 6.6 801
Josh Harris 186 4 737
P.J. Pope 101 5.7 577
2003 - Utah
Brandon Warfield 237 4.1 976
Alex Smith 149 3 452
Mike Liti 42 4.9 207
2004 - Utah
Marty Johnson 165 4.9 802
Quinton Ganther 109 6 654
Alex Smith 135 4.7 631
2005 - Florida
Deshawn Wynn 130 4.8 621
Markus Manson 81 4.5 365
Kestahn Moore 48 5.8 277
2006 - Florida
Deshawn Wynn 143 4.9 699
Tim Tebow 89 5.3 469
Percy Harvin 41 10.4 428
2007 - Florida
Tim Tebow 210 4.3 895
Percy Harvin 83 9.2 764
Kestahn Moore 104 5.6 580
2008 - Florida
Tim Tebow 176 3.8 673
Percy Harvin 70 9.4 660
Chris Rainey 84 7.8 652
2009 - Florida
Tim Tebow 217 4.2 910
Jeff Demps 99 7.5 745
Chris Rainey 89 6.5 575
2010 - Florida
Jeff Demps 92 6 551
Chris Rainey 51 7.2 366
Trey Burton 75 4.7 349
2012 - Ohio State
Braxton Miller 227 5.6 1,271
Carlos Hyde 185 5.2 970
Jordan Hall 40 5.5 218
2013 - Ohio State
Carlos Hyde 208 7.3 1,521
Braxton Miller 171 6.2 1,068
Jordan Hall 81 6.6 536
2014 - Ohio State
Ezekiel Elliott 273 6.9 1,878
J.T. Barrett 171 5.5 938
Curtis Samuel 58 6.6 383
2015 - Ohio State
Ezekiel Elliott 289 6.3 1,821
J.T. Barrett 115 5.9 682
Braxton Miller 43 6.1 261
2016 - Ohio State
Mike Weber 182 6 1,096
J.T. Barrett 205 4.1 845
Curtis Samuel 97 7.9 771

Dobbins is on track to join Meyer’s short list of 1,000-yard tailbacks.

And at this rate, he’ll breeze past that mark next year, too. Maybe Weber can get himself up to snuff and we’ll see two 1,000-yarders. Who knows? We’ll save that conversation for another day.

What we do know is that Meyer has adapted beautifully to Big Ten football. Guys like Miller and Elliott have powered the Buckeyes’ impressive five-year run.

Now it’s Dobbins turn.