Ohio State Football: The Evolution of Buckeyes Running Back Carlos Hyde

This time last year, Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde wasn’t happy.

Hyde had spent the first six games of the 2011 season splitting carries with Jordan Hall, but he saw his role in the offense diminish greatly when senior running back Dan “Boom” Herron returned to the team after serving a six-game suspension.

Buried behind Herron and Hall on the depth chart and seeing close to no playing time, it appeared as though Hyde wanted out of Columbus.

It wasn’t a lack of talent that kept Hyde on the sidelines. He was just in the unfortunate situation of being the odd man out in a crowded position on the depth chart.

Hyde’s lack of experience combined with his raw talent showed itself in abundance last year. His bruising, downhill running style allowed him to get the tough yards between the tackles. But it was his lack of patience in the running game and an inability to wait for holes to open up that hurt his production the most.

Just one example of that can be viewed in this clip of Ohio State’s loss to Nebraska last year. Instead of waiting to see if a hole would open up on the line, Hyde blindly follows his lead blocker into an impenetrable wall of linemen. A patient runner would have much rather taken the gigantic hole on the left side of the line—and a possible one-on-one matchup with a linebacker—over the path Hyde took on this play.

This year, though, Hyde is running with much more patience. It’s a big factor in Hyde’s early success this season and an even bigger reason why Ohio State is still undefeated.

Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football