COLUMBUS – It took Ohio State two years to figure out where it wanted Curtis Samuel to be.
If it hadn’t, it wouldn’t be where it is today.
Without a big season from Samuel, Ohio State probably would not be in the College Football Playoff, preparing to play Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.
The junior H-back has become the most explosive player in OSU’s offense. At times this season it felt like he was the Buckeyes’ only explosive player.
As a freshman, the 5-foot, 11-inch, 197-pound Samuel was used mostly as a running back. Last year, he played receiver more than running back with Ezekiel Elliott rarely leaving the field.
This year as an H-back, a hybrid of running back and wide receiver, he has 704 yards rushing and averages nearly 8 yards a carry and has more than twice as many catches as any other Buckeye with 65 of them for 822 yards.
Late in the season, he added punt returner to his resume after Dontre Wilson struggled in that role.
Samuel had Ohio State’s longest pass reception in six games. His 79-yard touchdown catch against Bowling Green, his 75-yard touchdown catch against Nebraska and his 74-yard touchdown run at Penn State are the three longest scoring plays of the season for OSU’s offense.
Offensive lineman Billy Price called Samuel “a freak” earlier this season and said he constantly does incredible things in practice.
Offensive coordinator Ed Warinner says Samuel’s freakish talent jumped off the screen at him when he first saw videos of him when he was a 4-star recruit at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn.
“He was so electric in his high school recruiting videos. He came in early and went through spring practice and in every Saturday scrimmage, he would have a 50-plus yard run. There aren’t many people who can run through Ohio State’s defense with that kind of speed and nobody can catch them,” Warinner said.
“There was no question he was an elite, explosive guy who could be a big playmaker for us in the run game and the pass game,” he said.
Maybe the only question about Samuel’s breakout season is why he didn’t touch the ball more. He is averaging 7.6 rushes per game and 5.4 catches a game.
If Samuel himself has asked that question, it has not been in public.
“I’m not a coach, I don’t demand touches,” he said. “I just go out there and make plays and hopefully the coaches see when I am out there that I am doing a great job and want to put the ball in my hands more.”
Samuel’s game-winning 15-yard touchdown run against Michigan and his arms-extended celebration are destined to be legendary at Ohio State. But the play he made just before it might have saved the game and OSU’s season.
On third-and-nine at the 24-yard line in the second overtime, quarterback J.T. Barrett threw a screen pass to the right side to Samuel, which appeared to be headed nowhere.
Samuel reversed field and started left, then he turned right and bumped into offensive tackle Jamarco Jones. At one point he was nearly 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, which would have put the Buckeyes out of field goal range with Michigan up 27-24.
But Samuel turned left again and managed to turn the play into an eight-yard gain, setting up Barrett’s one-yard run that left Jim Harbaugh bitterly disappointed.
“I’ve watched it a couple of times. I can’t explain the play, I don’t know what happened, I don’t know what I was thinking. I just knew I had to make a play and do something for the team,” Samuel said.
“I noticed when I crossed back to try to go the other way that mostly all the skill guys (for Michigan) were on the right side of the field so to the left it was probably the D-linemen and a couple of linebackers,” he said.
Samuel was named first-team All-American by The Associated Press and The Sporting News.
Like most players in December, he claims not to have thought much about entering the NFL draft early.
“Next year, I don’t know. I have not thought about it. I don’t know what I am going to do. I am just focused on this team and playing Clemson,” he said.
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