Thursday, April 22, 1999
OSU tailback competition marked by depth
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach John Cooper has a clear-cut starter at tailback in Michael Wiley.
Now Cooper just has to decide who will back up Wiley, and the candidates are making it a difficult choice.
Jerry Westbrooks, Jonathan Wells and Derek Combs are all putting on a show in spring practice for Cooper. They will get another chance to move ahead in the backup race at the Buckeyes' annual spring scrim mage Saturday.
Westbrooks, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior-to-be coming off shoulder surgery, knows the Buckeyes are well-stocked at tailback.
“So far I feel like I've been doing my job to the best of my ability. But everybody on our team, especially all the backs we have, they could go anywhere and start for any other school in the nation,” he said.
“You just can't play four tailbacks or five tailbacks.”
Wells, who backed up Wiley and Joe Montgomery as a freshman last season, has picked up the pace this spring.
“I'm a lot faster than last year, a lot quicker on my feet,” the 6-2, 230-pound Wells said. “I feel lighter out there. Last year I got up to 230 really quick and I felt kind of heavy. Right now I can carry my weight, but I still want to get down a few more pounds.”
Although he still has three seasons of eligibility remaining, Wells said time is running out this spring to claim the No.2 tailback spot behind Wiley, who led the Buckeyes with 1,235 rushing yards last season.
“They've pretty much seen what Michael can do on Saturdays,” Wells said. “So they are giving me, D.C. (Combs) and Jerry an equal amount of reps.”
Combs, who also will be a junior next season, was slowed by injuries last fall but was impressive when he did get the ball, rushing for 88 yards on just nine carries.
“He is very, very fast,” Cooper said of the 6-2, 197-pound Combs. “But he and Michael are very similar. They can give you the home run at any time.
“And Jerry Westbrooks is a fast guy, too.”
Such depth can be a good thing to have, Cooper said.
“You start feeling like you've got too many running backs and the next thing you know — I've seen it happen where you had five or six and you end up with one or two,” he said.
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