Name: Brandon Saine
Team: Ohio State University
Position: Running back
Number: 3
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 219 lbs
40 Time: 4.43 (est.)
Hometown: Piqua, Ohio
2009 Stats: 145 Runs, 739 Yds, 4 TDs. 17 Rec, 224 RecYds, 2 RecTDs.
2010 Stats: N/A
Campus Profile:
Buckeye Bits: talented offensive threat blessed with a combination of breakaway speed and power … performed well during spring drills … also a capable receiver … made big strides in the winter weight program
2008 (Sophomore): was a hybrid factor in the Buckeye offense … 2-yard TD run against Ohio … 20-yard reception from Terrelle Pryor against Penn State … special teams dog tags: Illinois … second-year letterman
2007 (Freshman): rushed for 267 yards and two scores as a true freshman in 2007 … gained 28 yards rushing and caught a touchdown pass in Akron win … 37-yard TD at Washington … leading rusher (69 yards) and receiver (76) against Kent State … team’s outstanding first-year player on offense … special teams dog tags: Akron … first-year letterman
High School: Ohio’s 2006 Mr. Football after rushing for 1,895 yards and 27 touchdowns on 259 carries and totaling 412 yards on 30 pass receptions as a senior … Parade All-American … runs a 4.35 40-yard dash … rated as the No. 2 overall prospect in Ohio … garnered all-state, all-conference and conference player of the year honors as a junior and a senior … rushed for 240 yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead Piqua to the 2006 Division II state championship …100- and 400-meter Division I state track champion … Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, helping lead the East squad to a 24-18 victory … owned a 3.3 GPA
Personal: son of Wendi Croft … has two siblings … a business administration major at Ohio State … 2008 Big Ten all-academic
6/19/2010 - Comments - Background: Brandon Saine is a former 4-Star recruit, rated by Rivals as the #5 running back in the country in 2007. He did not redshirt as a freshman at Ohio State, but he stepped into a situation where both future 1st round pick Chris 'Beanie' Wells and Maurice Wells were firmly established, and it didn't help that Todd Boeckman and later Terrelle Pryor were significant factors in the ground game as mobile Quarterbacks. Saine was also recruited in the same year as another top recruit (4-Star, Rivals' #18 RB in Nation) Dan Herron. This has proved to be a crowded backfield for Saine to navigate through for reps, and so his lack of statistics in 2007 and 2008 are not surprising. An injury which required minor knee surgery in 2007 did not help. More injuries during the 2008 season also did not help and if he suffers any more injuries in 2010 he may be bumped way down the draft boards of teams that require explicit shows of durability in their backs. Given a shot in 2009 to replace the departing Beanie Wells, Saine proved more effective as a yard gainer than his fellow recruit Herron, and he put together a full season without missing any action. He has never been in trouble off the field, that I have found, and in his interviews he sounds very humble, quiet and a little bit shy.
-CK
6/19/2010 - Comments - Size/Speed: As you know we rarely trust listed heights/weights, and it's even harder to trust speed estimates. In the case of Brandon Saine, I don't believe the listings are that far off. He is not a squatty player, so I could believe him being a fraction of an inch above 6' tall. He is noticeably taller on the football field than his counterpart, the 5'10" listed Dan Herron. He showed up to Ohio State at a verified 205 lbs, and so 219 lbs is not unbelievable. He looked about 215 lbs in 2009, if I were to play the "guess my weight" game. As far as speed goes, a 4.43 is also an easy figure to believe, and based on what I have seen I would not put it past him to best that time in a Combine setting. Ohio State employs an Olympic medalist and former 400 meters world record holder as its speed coach, and he verified that as an incoming freshman Saine was about a 4.40 guy that could crack into the 4.3's. Jim Tressel noted that even though he ran with the team's middle size group, Saine could beat all of the team's smallest size group (DBs and WRs) in a foot race. He won four state track titles in high school, and was the national 60 yard dash champion. He holds the Ohio Division I record for the 100 meters at 10.38 seconds. Unofficially, he has supposedly been clocked as fast as 4.25 seconds in the 40 yard dash. That means nothing if you can't see his speed on the football field, but a little film watching will tell you that on the field or off it you can see that his speed is very real. In the games I've seen, once he broke into the open it was easy to see that he was obviously the fastest man on the field.
-CK
6/19/2010 - Comments - Talent & Outlook: Early in his Ohio State career, he struggled with vision and timing, which along with some minor injuries and the presence of future 1st rounder Beanie Wells, helped keep him on the bench. He is more of a smooth glider than a chopper in the open field, but he's very disciplined and keeps his feet moving when mucked up in a pile. Though he's a glider, I wouldn't go as far as calling him a long strider. He possesses very good balance which helps him to break a fair amount of tackles after contact. With his kind of speed, Ohio State logically wanted his immediate contribution to the offense to come more in the passing game. However, early in his career he struggled with some of the finer concepts involved in being a significant receiving threat. From what I have seen, he has improved on this aspect of his game. He has shown the ability to execute chip blocking assignments and then quickly get into his route and catch the football. He is a deadly threat on play-action routes as well as wheel routes where he can easily get over top of linebackers and be a vertical threat a la C.J. Spiller. His pad level is OK, not great, but he does lower the shoulder to get more yards after contact and remembers to fall forward. I wouldn't go as far as calling him upright. His power and strength are not elite. One of the aspects of his game that makes him very interesting is the fact that he is a very high effort player, and this carries over to his ability to block in the backfield. From what I have seen, coaches can trust him to protect the passer, and he'll carry out his task with enthusiasm, at times knocking players to the ground. He has contributed big in some pretty big games against quality opponents. With the right senior season, and the right Combine measurements, and depending on which juniors come out, he could be a 1st/2nd round draft prospect. As things stand, the 3rd round might prove to be a more appropriate home for him based on his career to date.
-CK
