He Said: Monday Morning H-Back: Parris Campbell

Photo courtesy of Parris Campbell

We all have a little bit of Monday morning quarterbacking in us and here at the TWSS it is no different. We just want to take credit for it being from a different position on the team that has always gotten extra attention from head coach Urban Meyer.

The focus of the first article will be on Parris Campbell as he appears to be Curtis Samuel's replacement for the upcoming season. Let's take a look at his past numbers and then get into what I think he needs to do to be the man this season, and if he can do it.

What?

Most of the nay sayers so far have been looking back at his full body of work instead of the flashes of greatness that has been displayed. Campbell has been very active on special teams during his first two seasons in Columbus so the work has been put in. He started three games as a redshirt frosh on a team loaded with wide receivers.

Courtesy of ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Campbell is the son of one of my favorite Buckeye parents (and has become a good friend at the games) Shelly Woodruff. You cannot miss Woodruff, father Parris Campbell Sr. or the grandparents on Saturdays because they all have always worn the No. 21. Woodruff's jersey simply says Parris' Mom. As an usher, they are what makes Saturdays a blast.

Courtesy of Shelly Woodruff's IG

Campbell had a great spring, but that's not the only reason for the hype around him. He is fast and quite possibly is one of the fastest Buckeyes in recent history. He helped St. Vincent-St. Mary win the OHSAA track title as a senior and broke the Ohio State indoor track 60 meter record as a true freshman (6.85).

Secondly, he has been carving out his own niche in kick-off returns as he led the Big Ten Conference and ranked 11th nationally with a 27.8 yards-per-return average. That's seventh all-time for a single season at Ohio State and his 584 (149 return yards vs. Indiana ranking third) return yards rank third in Ohio State history. He also figured into the mix of #ZoneSix fairly well last season considering the touches that were split up by players not in Columbus anymore.

Courtesy of ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Why?

What kind of pressure is on him to replace Samuel? To put it plainly, a lot. Here's the production he will need to bring, and bear in mind, Samuel had a better statistical season than Meyer's original H-Back.

Percy Harvin Junior Season

Curtis Samuel Junior Season

To put the above in more perspective, Samuel's production was the best overall by a single player since Meyer took over the Ohio State program. He started out his career by proving the experts wrong in that he couldn't produce a 1,000 yard rusher in his offense. Last season he did that and upped the anty on the H-Back position. Campbell will have to touch the ball 154 more times this season to match Samuel.

Campbell had the stats of a journeyman last season and he played his role perfectly. This season the expectation will be that he fill Samuel's shoes and then some. The only thing that will hold him back will be himself. There is a lot of speculation that Kevin Wilson's offense will utilize the TE a lot more because of his style. Let's not jump the gun here because he has already said that things are progressing well for him in adjusting to Meyer's style.

They will still want to get their rushing yards and grind it out, so expect Campbell to get the lion's share of the carries (around 70 along with McCall/Dobbins getting the rest) after Mike Weber. I also believe that he will be a lot of J.T. Barrett's first choices when throwing the ball on the quick outs and possibly slants to the tune of 50 receptions. There's opportunity there for some great production from Campbell. Won't quite be the numbers that Samuel got but will be enough in this offense to do damage!

Campbell has shown some flashes of greatness since being in the Scarlet and Gray. It has mostly been around his time on special teams, but he has shown it much in the same way Ezekiel Elliott did prior to getting his opportunity to carry the football. We all know how that ended up. Campbell has been a tireless worker and loves to lower the boom on kickoff coverage and kickoff returns. I have followed his progress because he has been working his way into becoming one of my favorites on this team.

This season will be a fun one to watch and seeing Campbell have the opportunity to be the centerpiece is exciting for me. I can just imagine how exciting it is for him and his family. Good luck to him this season and go prove me right!

Always have to get a selfie with Shelly, One of my Favs!