If you are talking about the best running backs in Ohio State history, I believe its a three-headed monster at the top. Griffin, Elliott, and Eddie George. George and Griffin won Heismans, and Elliott won the national championship. That's why I think any of the three could be regarded as the best running back in Ohio State history.
OSU has a very rich history, and because of that we have a lot of traditionalists. My goal is not to sit here and say they are wrong. However, I think a lot of people say Griffin is the best simply because of his two Heismans, and what his name means to Ohio State. They don't discredit Elliott, but they also don't give him a fair evaluation.
That's why I want to take a moment to present the case for Elliott.
To start the argument it needs to be noted that all three of these guys played in completely different eras. There is a 20-year gap between all three. While Griffin was at Ohio State, the Buckeyes ran the ball 86.5 percent of the time, compared to only 63 percent of the time when Elliott was at Ohio State, and 66.25 percent of the time for George. Those numbers can be deceiving though, because all three running backs received similar workloads, with George being the exception in 1995 when Ohio State gave him the ball 41 percent of the time. Griffin got the ball 30 percent of the time during his final three years at Ohio State, and they handed off to Elliott 29 percent of the time during his final two years at Ohio State.
My one take away is that those numbers could explain why Griffin's career average is lower than Elliott's. It's hard to get almost seven yards per carry when opposing teams know you are running and stack the box. That being said, I still wanted to take a look at the average yards per carry for all three of these legends.
After looking at these stats, Elliott is clearly the best running back between the three when it comes to yards per carry. Yes, Griffin may have won two Heisman Trophy awards, but Elliott had two seasons better than Griffin's best. While I agree that it is hard to compare all three, you can still use these stats to begin to build an argument for Elliott.
Below are individual stats from the Michigan game. I don't need to explain why I'm using the Michigan game, but the stats do tell an interesting story. When you compare the averages for all three guys to their career averages, Elliott is the only guy that preformed better against Michigan. This is starting to paint the picture that Elliott was not only amazing, but his ability to step up in the biggest moments is what truly makes him impressive, and arguably the best.
Speaking of big moments, I also compiled all of the stats from bowl games/national championships. Again, Elliott is the only player that stepped up against the best competition, and preformed at an elite level.
To get the big picture of what I'm talking about you need to go back and look at the average yards per carry for all three guys. Then compare those stats to their stats against Michigan, and then in the bowl games. While you can sit here and say they all played in different eras, there is no hiding from the fact that Elliott was the only running back that played better in the bigger games that mattered. While I value the Heisman Trophy, football is a team sport. Elliot is the only running back of the three that helped lead his team to a national championship.
To close my argument, here are stats from the final three games in 2014 that led to Ohio State winning the national championship. So although Elliott never won a Heisman trophy award, he was a huge part in Ohio State winning a national championship.
So who really is the best running back in Ohio State history? Well, it depends who you ask. Whatever the answer is, its not wrong. All three of these guys played football at Ohio State, and all three of them had amazing careers. Just because someone says its George, and you think its Griffin doesn't mean they are wrong. In my case, however, I think its Elliott. I don't think people give him a fair chance when they are debating this topic because, "How could you ever say Griffin isn't the best, he won two Heismans." I know how good Griffin is, and this does not mean I think he sucks. I just think Zeke was a better pass blocker, and he had very good hands. His ability to pick up a blitz, and give Cardale Jones one more second was very unappreciated. Elliott had all the tools it took to become the best running back in Ohio State history, and in my opinion he accomplished that feat.
"Go Bucks"
-Mr. Ohio
Stats from:
admin.xosn.com
www.umich.edu/~bhlumrec/athdept/fbstats/
www.sports-reference.com
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