Just about a year ago, Penn State held Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott to a modest 109 yards on 26 carries. It was one reason the Nittany Lions nearly pulled off a monster upset before losing in double-overtime at Beaver Stadium.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, however, saw more than bare numbers. He recognized a pivotal moment in the running back's career.
“That (2014) game was one of the best I've ever seen a tailback play without the ball,” Meyer said. “His blocking against a very good defense last year was outstanding. He started to separate himself from a good player to a great player last year around this time.”
Penn State last week again was preparing to face Elliott — now a certified great player and top-tier Heisman Trophy candidate — along with his talented teammates Saturday night at Ohio Stadium. The Nittany Lions were 5-1 coming in. Top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State was 6-0, riding a 19-game winning streak.
Of all the Buckeyes' weapons, Elliott might be the most dangerous.
“You can say he has the whole package,” Penn State linebacker Brandon Bell said. “He has the speed — you can see him breaking away. He has the size to run downhill and in between the tackles, and I think he's a savvy player.”
Listed at 225 pounds, Elliott also has flashed extraordinary leaping ability by hurdling would-be tackles. That makes sense.
Elliott won sprint and hurdle championships during all four years of high school. Now he's putting that to use on the football field.
“A lot of teams are attacking me very low,” he said. “To avoid those low hits, which can be dangerous, I started hurdling people.”
Elliott capped his 2014 season with one of the greatest three-game stretches by a running back, given the stakes, rushing for 220 yards in the Big Ten championship against Wisconsin, 230 in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Alabama and 246 yards in the national championship against Oregon, totaling nine touchdowns. He finished with 1,878 yards and 18 TDs after coming back from a preseason wrist injury.
A junior, Elliott this season was leading the Big Ten with 835 yards (fifth nationally), averaging 6.9 yards a carry. He also topped the conference with 10 rushing touchdowns.
“This year, I'm doing way better just making plays (beyond the line of scrimmage),” he said. “Last year, I didn't have too many explosive long runs at the beginning of the season. This year, I've had a couple of long runs.”
Penn State coach James Franklin said, “it seems like every game he has two or three runs of 60 yards or more.”
That's a slight exaggeration. But two weeks ago against Indiana, Elliott had touchdown runs of 75, 65 and 55 yards, all after halftime and all necessary in Ohio State's 34-27 win. His 243 total second-half yards set a Buckeyes record for rushing yardage in a half.
“Coach Meyer made an emphasis that big plays are going to spark the team, and I knew we needed big plays,” Elliott said.
Bob Cohn is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at bcohn@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCohn_Trib.
