Chip Kelly Shares Early Thoughts on RB Workload

Where Buckeyes Can Improve Heading Into Second Week of Ohio State Football Season

Ohio State Running Backs Quinshon Judkins And TreVeyon Henderson recorded 13 and 8 carries, respectively, in a 52-6 season-opening win over Akron.

Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly wants to see both totals go up.

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“43 and 40 would be better,” Kelly said when asked Tuesday about the Judkins-Henderson split, “but I don’t think we’ll get that many snaps in the game.

“(Running backs coach) Carlos (Locklyn) does a great job of keeping those guys fresh and figuring out who’s in and who’s out. There wasn’t a set plan, but hopefully we run the ball a little bit more and those numbers are up for both guys.”

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Although Judkins had five more carries than Henderson, Judkins finished with just 55 rushing yards to Henderson’s 65 rushing yards. So while Henderson averaged 8.1 yards per tote with three runs of 10-plus yards, Judkins averaged 4.2 yards per tote with two runs of 10-plus yards, not to mention Judkins’ goal line touchdown.

It’s notable that Judkins’ breakaway percentage (27.5%) and yards after contact per attempt (3.21) weren’t particularly high last season, according to Pro Football Focus, but it’s possible the large number of carries (271) he accumulated with the Rebels was a contributing factor.

“I thought Q did a really good job with what we designed,” Kelly said. “He’s definitely not a blocker for himself. So sometimes, if something breaks before he gets a chance to read, he has to adapt and build on that.

“But I think there’s a point of getting the chemistry, getting the feel — is our scheme a little different than what he ran at his other school? You know, there’s some nuance to that, being behind the quarterback and not across from the quarterback, how much of a stack did they have at his other school? So just getting comfortable with that, and I think that’s the process that’s going to continue here at the beginning of the season.”

Judkins eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in both seasons at Ole Miss. He was a two-time first-team All-SEC honoree. A chain mover at Ole Miss, Judkins threw for four first downs in his Ohio State debut, plus his touchdown run.

Kelly said Tuesday that he doesn’t view the match any differently if Henderson is in the match against Judkins and vice versa.

“I think both of those guys can run inside the tackle,” said Kelly, who took over Ohio State’s play-calling duties from head coach Ryan Day this offseason. “They’re both tough, hard-nosed, physical runners, but they both have the speed and the athleticism to get to the perimeter. So they both had perimeter sweep runs that they ran. They both ran inside the tackles and inside the zone and countered.

“The unique thing about those two guys is that sometimes you have two different types of full-backs. I think with those two guys you can call on a similar game plan. I think James Volkeren “He’s in the same category. So when James came in there, I thought he was very productive in the small amount of snaps that he had. For a true freshman to come here and play the way James did, we think he has a really bright future here, but that doesn’t change with him there either.”

Peoples carried the ball six times for 30 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State finished with 170 rushing yards, but Kelly has his sights set on even more for his run game.

That starts with an even bigger workload for the Buckeyes’ two-headed monsters: Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.