Growing up in Naples, Fla., Carlos Hyde didn’t need a tutorial on Urban Meyer’s offense.
He knew plenty about Meyer and the spread from Meyer’s time as Florida’s coach. Hyde also knew he wanted no part of it, even though he said Florida offered him a scholarship to play in Gainesville.
“When I saw this offense, it was little running backs,” Hyde told ESPN.com. “Little scat backs running around, Percy Harvin-type dudes, Jeff Demps-type people. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fit in.”
At 6-foot and 232 pounds, Hyde can be described as a lot of things. Little isn’t one of them. He’s a power back in the truest sense, so he chose to go where power backs go: Ohio State.
There was only one problem: Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, who had featured power backs like Chris Wells and Maurice Clarett in his offense, resigned in the spring after Hyde’s freshman season. Although Ohio State kept a similar offense in 2011, the school changed coaches and brought in Meyer.
“I was excited,” Hyde said. “I knew Coach Meyer, his track record. He’s won big games. He’s won some national championships. I knew when he was coming here, I was like, ‘I’m going to have a huge chance to get to play in the national championship before I leave college.’”
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