Freshman runningback Rod Smith is turning heads during "Showtime."

• imex99

  

  Good story, can't wait to watch our rb's over the next four years.....
  
  http://www.theozone.net/football/2010/SugarBowl/RodSmith.htm
  
  
  Rod Smith Turning Heads in Showtime
  
  By Brandon CastelCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Rod Smith won’t get a chance to show Buckeye fans what he can do this year, but if bowl prep is any indication, they have a lot to look forward to.
  The freshman running back out of Fort Wayne, Ind. is taking a redshirt during his first season in Columbus, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking Ohio State’s “showtime” by storm.
  “Oh man, today everyone was talking about Rod Smith, he's going to be an unbelievable back,” senior captain Ross Homan said.
  “I'm telling you, he's humble he has a great work ethic and he's going to be an unbelievable back here in the next couple years.”
  “Showtime” is the term for Ohio State’s portion of practice where the young kids take center stage in front of their veteran teammates. It’s a chance for the stars of the future to show what they’ve got, and Smith appears to be just that.
  
  
  The No. 6-rated running back in the class of 2010 by Rivals.com, Smith had some incredible runs during Tuesday morning’s practice that caught everyone’s attention, including that of Ohio State’s head coach.
  “The guy that had a couple good runs was Rod Smith,” Jim Tressel said during his bowl media day press conference.
  “He went and took his team down and scored a touchdown and did a good job. He's the first guy I can think of.”
  At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Smith with the ball in his hands is like trying to bring down a bull. Like most big backs, he is strong and powerful, but what separates him from other ball-carriers his size is his deceiving quickness and stunning burst.
  “It's just how he runs, where he finds creases, explosion and stuff like that,” senior defensive tackle Dexter Larimore said.
  “He cuts very well for a bigger back, and I just watch him and think, ‘Man, that kid's going to be good.’”
  That unusual blend of size, strength, speed and vision has already led to a number of lofty comparisons for Smith, including one of the all-time greats in Eddie George. Like the Heisman Trophy-winner, Smith dominated the prep ranks, rushing for over 6,000 yards in his career at Paul Harding High School.
  It’s comparisons to another former Buckeye tailback, however, that has Smith’s teammates buzzing.
  “He has all the physical assets, he's got size, speed, but Rod he really just sits back and takes everything in,” Homan said.
  “He's a humble guy, he's always in the weight room, I always tell him ‘there's Beanie Wells’ and he always smiles, but he's going to be an unbelievable player.”
  The Buckeyes already have a stable of running backs, or else Smith might be on the field Jan. 4 when they face Arkansas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
  Considered to be one of the prize recruits in Ohio State’s 2010 class, Smith was a later arrival because of academics. He had to finish up some summer courses and logistical work, which kept him away during all of fall camp.
  Even after missing the first game of the season, the OSU coaches did not rule Smith out as an automatic redshirt. Ultimately, missing 29 fall practices and a game-week was too much for the young kid to overcome from a mental standpoint.
  By the time he would have been ready to contribute, redshirt junior Boom Herron had already established himself as the feature back in Ohio State’s offense. Despite sharing time with senior Brandon Saine and sophomore Jordan Hall, Herron went on to rush for over 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2010 as the Buckeyes finished 11-1 during the regular season.
  The Buckeyes lose Saine after this season, but they return a talented group of tailbacks, including Hall and current freshmen Jaamal Berry and Carlos Hyde.
  The key, however, will be Herron. The fourth-year junior filed paperwork with the NFL to see where he might go in next April’s draft. If that comes back favorable and Herron opts to make the jump, the position breaks wide open for Smith in 2011.
  Hall and Berry are both talented back, but they are smaller, shiftier speed backs.* The emergence of Smith would give OSU a more traditional power back to offset those two.
  “He's a bigger guy, which Ohio State always loves,” Larimore said of Smith.
  
  “I mean, obviously, he's not going to juke somebody out of his shoes - actually, he probably could do that if he wanted to. But he's able to be physical in the hole, which we always kind of liked.”
  
  
  
  
  Sent from my Sprint HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk
• charliehustle14

  'One player' on the team I know says the kid is a down right beast at practice and is probably the most talented RB at OSU right now. I cannot wait to see him when he gets his shot. But then again, I can't wait to see Hall, Berry, and Hyde get meaningful carries as well.
• Hb31187

  

  I wonder if any of these backs end up transfering, theres only so many carries to split
• charliehustle14

  Hb31187;603166 wrote:I wonder if any of these backs end up transfering, theres only so many carries to split

  
  More than likely...I just hope it's not Berry. I do know that because of Smith's rise, OSU coaches have talked to Hyde about a position change. This according to the OSU player that I've spoken with.
• Tiernan

  Hb31187;603166 wrote:I wonder if any of these backs end up transfering, theres only so many carries to split

  Naaah...this ain't Meechigan.
• Hb31187

  

  No its not Meeeeechigan I'm aware. But if you're a highly touted RB you dont want to sit on the bench and watch your entire college career. I know you know this, you just like taking shots at Michigan fans whenever you get the chance. Troll
• Hb31187

  

  charliehustle14;603172 wrote:More than likely...I just hope it's not Berry. I do know that because of Smith's rise, OSU coaches have talked to Hyde about a position change. This according to the OSU player that I've spoken with.

  
  What wold he change to? Or did they not know that exactly
• charliehustle14

  Hb31187;603210 wrote:What wold he change to? Or did they not know that exactly

  
  He's been getting reps at fullback (no surprise there) and OLB. I'm not sure how it ended up working out or what's going on now. Hyde is a pretty athletic kid and played LB in HS, so it doesn't seem as strange as it may sound.
  
  He changed numbers late in the season this year, so I think a position change may have had something to do with that, even though he remained at RB during any PT he got.
• SportsAndLady

  

  I thought Hyde was in the process of moving to fullback?
  
  Edit: just saw charlies post
• Hb31187

  

  charliehustle14;603229 wrote:He's been getting reps at fullback (no surprise there) and OLB. I'm not sure how it ended up working out or what's going on now. Hyde is a pretty athletic kid and played LB in HS, so it doesn't seem as strange as it may sound.
  
  He changed numbers late in the season this year, so I think a position change may have had something to do with that, even though he remained at RB during any PT he got.

  I could see him playing some LB, but arent you guys pretty much set at LB? FB he could be like a peyton hillis type @ Arkansas
• charliehustle14

  Hb31187;603236 wrote:I could see him playing some LB, but arent you guys pretty much set at LB? FB he could be like a peyton hillis type @ Arkansas

  
  Well on paper, we are set at LB. But we lose Rolle and Homan after this year. Sweat is a good OLB, but is oft injured. Sabino is heavily touted and was a RS JR this year and will start in the middle for the next 2 years, more than likely. Jonathan Newsome didn't really impress me this year at OLB, but he is a RS freshman. Guys like Bell, Klein, McVey, and Whiting are wild cards that I haven't heard too much about or seen too much.
• NilesPacMan

  He's a pretty nice kid; he had to stay in my floor's study room at the beginning of the year due some housing mix-ups. Even though he usually kept to himself and was out of dorm a lot, when I ran into him in the hallway and such, he was always polite and kind. I'm glad to see he's doing well.
• charliehustle14

  NilesPacMan;603259 wrote:He's a pretty nice kid; he had to stay in my floor's study room at the beginning of the year due some housing mix-ups. Even though he usually kept to himself and was out of dorm a lot, when I ran into him in the hallway and such, he was always polite and kind. I'm glad to see he's doing well.

  
  I've heard he's about as humble as it gets and Homan's comments and your comments reaffirm what I've heard.
• jpake1

  

  That's awesome to hear. I have high expectations for the young man. Things are setting up very nicely for him.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Hb31187;603236 wrote:I could see him playing some LB, but arent you guys pretty much set at LB? FB he could be like a peyton hillis type @ Arkansas

  
  Yea it would be like Arkansas if we had anyone as talented at McFadden and Jones ahead of him.
  
  Boom really played well this year, but you almost wish he was graduating because we've been hearing about the potential of these younger guys and might not have a chance to see them for another year now.
• adog

  A link to a high recruiting vid of Rod. Pretty impressive...
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzBJGoUxPG8
• Thunder70

  

  can never have too many linebackers...
• OhioStatePride2003

  charliehustle14;603251 wrote:Well on paper, we are set at LB. But we lose Rolle and Homan after this year. Sweat is a good OLB, but is oft injured. Sabino is heavily touted and was a RS JR this year and will start in the middle for the next 2 years, more than likely. Jonathan Newsome didn't really impress me this year at OLB, but he is a RS freshman. Guys like Bell, Klein, McVey, and Whiting are wild cards that I haven't heard too much about or seen too much.

  
  I wasn't impressed by Newsome at ALL this year. I'm really excited to see what Bell, Klein and Whiting can do at LB but Hyde is really athletic so if there is anyway to get him on the field, I hope we do so. I'd like to see him at fullback and be paired up with Berry and/or Smith in the backfield.
  
  Unfortunately (really it's fortunate), I think that we're going to have to wait another year to see any of these younger guys in the backfield. I really like what Boom was able to do for us this year. Hall is an exciting player, and Berry seems to have all the potential to be a tremendous back for us. From the youtube video, Smith looks incredibly fast against the defenses he faced - I just hope (and it sounds like it will) that his game translates to the next level as well as expected.
• dwccrew

  

  In his recruiting video he looks like a man among boys.