Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State had a frustrating outing this past Saturday afternoon when their perfect season ended and hopes of a title defense nearly died. It wasn’t just that they lost, though. It was the manner in which they lost that angered their star running back.
Ezekiel Elliott told the media following the loss to Michigan State that he was frustrated with the coaches, mainly due to the fact that he only received 12 carries in the loss.
“I just feel like we weren’t put in the right opportunity to win this game. We weren’t put in the right situations to win this game,” Elliott stated. “We’ll have some momentum, we’ll call some plays that work, and then we kind of try to get away from it, try to get cute and run some other stuff.”
The Buckeyes were held to 132 yards of total offense and Elliott made his feelings known. He also declared that there is no chance that he will be returning to Ohio State next year. He’s since apologized for his comments, but has also said that none of it was untrue.
His comments were unnecessary and completely out of line, but I will agree that what Elliott said was completely true. Michigan State’s defense was nearly unbeatable on that day, but when you have a talent like Elliott, you have to find ways to get him involved. The game plan altogether seemed sloppy, and put simply, Urban Meyer was outcoached by Mark Dantonio.
As for Elliott’s future, he’ll remain near the top of the draft boards. In today’s NFL, running backs that have top-10 talent are hard to come by. Elliott has that kind of talent and he’ll go early despite his comments. He’s a 20-year-old kid, and we need to accept that sometimes young adults will say things that they should probably keep to themselves. So as far as the immaturity argument goes, let’s slow down. I actually respect the fact that he came out with an apology, but at the same time, didn’t retract what he said. He just simply acknowledged that it wasn’t the right time or outlet to express his frustrations.
I’m sure he was reprimanded by the staff and I have no doubt that everyone inside the program has already moved on. The Buckeyes have a lot more important things to worry about with a trip to Ann Arbor on the horizon.
Jason Shawley is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering Big Ten Football. Follow him on Twitter @jshawls.
