It took Urban Meyer more than a decade and four different college head coaching job before he had a running back eclipse the 1,000-yard mark over the course of a season.
The player to shatter the barrier was Carlos Hyde, who romped for 1,521 yards during his senior season as Ohio State went 12-2 in 2013. Ezekiel Elliott tallied 1,878 and 1,821 yards the last two seasons, the main driving force to Ohio State's offensive attack.
| YEAR | PLAYER | CARRIES | YARDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Josh Harris, QB | 126 | 614 | 8 |
| 2002 | Joe Alls, RB | 122 | 801 | 4 |
| 2003 | Brandon Warfield, RB | 237 | 976 | 11 |
| 2004 | Marty Johnson, RB | 165 | 802 | 14 |
| 2005 | Deshawn Wynn, RB | 130 | 621 | 7 |
| 2006 | Deshawn Wynn, RB | 143 | 699 | 6 |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow, QB | 210 | 895 | 23 |
| 2008 | Tim Tebow, QB | 176 | 673 | 12 |
| 2009 | Tim Tebow, QB | 217 | 910 | 14 |
| 2010 | Jeff Demps, RB | 92 | 551 | 3 |
| 2012 | Braxton Miller, QB | 227 | 1,271 | 13 |
| 2013 | Carlos Hyde, RB | 208 | 1,521 | 15 |
| 2014 | Ezekiel Elliott, RB | 273 | 1,878 | 18 |
| 2015 | Ezekiel Elliott, RB | 289 | 1,821 | 23 |
Before 2013, Meyer never coached a running back to an 1,000-yard season.