Story by Marla Ridenour
Akron Beacon Journal
April 19, 2006

COLUMBUS--When the The Ohio State football team got off the
bus outside The Ohio Stadium on Tuesday, offensive
coordinator Jim Bollman had a tight grip on Chris Wells'
biceps as he steered the highly touted tailback toward the
meeting rooms.

The Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has not allowed a freshman
to talk to the media this spring, and there would be no
exception for the Parade All-American from Garfield, even
if it was the running backs' interview day.

As his indoctrination wraps up with Saturday's 1:05 p.m.
spring game, though, Wells is drawing rave reviews from his
coaches and teammates.

Junior tailback Antonio Pittman, from Buchtel, said Wells
reminds him of New England's Corey Dillon. Running backs
coach Dick Tressel, Jim's brother, hasn't backed off his
signing-day statement: Wells is a spitting image of Hall of
Famer Jim Brown.

"Beanie is 6-1 and 235 pounds, and he's just come out of
high school," fullback Stan White Jr. said in using Wells'
nickname and sounding almost amazed.

"I think he's going to have a great career. He's going to
punish people while he's here."

Wells graduated from Garfield early so he could enroll for
the spring quarter at tOSU and get a head start in
practice. It appears to have been a wise move, considering
the improvement of sophomores Maurice Wells and Eric Haw.

Pittman, the incumbent after rushing for 1,331 yards last
season, has been held out of contact drills due to a
hamstring injury suffered before the Notre Dame game. He is
not expected to play Saturday. He has taken every
opportunity to help Chris Wells, even though some wonder if
Wells eventually will unseat Pittman as No. 1 tailback.

"It's not about competition, it's about helping the team
any way I can," Pittman said. "Him being from Akron, and me
knowing him personally, you always try to help somebody out
like that."

Asked what Wells has done well, Pittman replied: "It's a
big transition coming from high school and running a simple
offense to getting up here and they're throwing 10, 11
plays at you a day, and they expect you to learn
everything. Learning as quick as he has is the biggest
thing."

Dick Tressel concurred.

"What he has done well is really take it upon himself to be
a learner and a listener," Tressel said. "He has gone out
of his way to make sure he's doing all the studying of the
game he possibly can.

"He's in a whole new world. He has got all kinds of new
things and new people and new competition and he's doing a
great job working through it."

In a scrimmage April 8, Wells picked up 92 yards on 19
carries, but fumbled after a pass reception.

"He's a very patient runner," Jim Tressel said. "For a
young guy, I was very impressed with his patience. He
waited for things to develop. He has got a ways to go in
the pass game. We've thrown a million things at him, and I
think he's doing fine with that."

Dick Tressel said Wells didn't do anything his first day of
practice to wow him.

"He's certainly a guy who has high hopes and high
expectations," he said. "For him to play really well is
what everybody expects."

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