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Meyer compares Ezekiel Elliott to Tebow and Harvin
When Urban Meyer arrived at Ohio State, there were questions about how his spread offense would translate to the northern climate.
Outsiders wondered if Ohio State was abandoning the power running game that has defined the program since Woody Hayes began stalking the Ohio Stadium sidelines in the 1950s. Meyer had never had a running back exceed 1,000 yards rushing in a season (although his Florida teams were overall a run-first unit), and opposing coaches made sure prospects knew that as they worked against Ohio State on the recruiting trail.
From day one, Meyer and his staff began driving home in the media the point they wanted to be a physical running team regardless of their base formation. Meyer noted they were running the same plays that were favored by Hayes regardless of how many receivers were on the field.
Ezekiel Elliott believed the message and signed with Ohio State in February 2013, and Carlos Hyde took care of that 1,000-yard season thing the following fall.
Elliott gave Meyer back-to-back 1,000-yard backs, and the St. Louis native is among the favorites to be Meyer's first running back to win the Heisman Trophy.
Now his head coach has thrown out the names of two of his biggest Florida stars in explaining what has led to Elliott's rise.
"He's the best practice offensive player that I've ever had," Meyer told attendees at the Redefining Athletic Standards camp in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sunday per BuckeyeSports.com. "I've had (Tim) Tebow, Percy Harvin and some other great ones. He's phenomenal at practice. He's the guy that finishes every run 25-30 yards downfield and works on making the safeties miss. If you watch the Oregon game, our first touchdown, he wasn't that good when we got him. He was a kid that worked himself into being that good."
(H/T BuckeyeSports.com)
