Ohio State junior running back Mike Weber announced Sunday evening that he plans to declare himself eligible for the 2019 NFL Draft.
Much like defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones, Weber said that he plans to play in the 2019 Rose Bowl before officially turning pro.
Weber made the announcement on Twitter. He wrote “I will forgo my Senior season an will live the dream I’ve had since (I was) 5 years old. I will be declaring for the 2019 NFL Draft.”
The decision is not a surprise. Weber considered leaving for the NFL after the 2017 season, but opted to come back for another year with the Buckeyes.
He has rushed for more than 2,500 yards in his OSU career, good for 15th all-time in school history. He is only 69 yards behind Raymont Harris, and could move up a spot on the list with a nice day in his collegiate finale.
A native of Detroit, Weber always seemed to save his best efforts for the games against his home-state schools.
He rushed for a touchdown in all six of his career games against Michigan and Michigan State, all of which were wins.
Weber has overcome a series of injuries to be a steady and effective back for the Buckeyes. He missed his true freshman season with an injury, but rebounded to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2016.
A hamstring injury cost him a big chunk of the 2o17 season, and he missed time this fall with a leg contusion. In each of the last two seasons, he split time and carries with J.K. Dobbins.
Still, Weber was a consistent performer for OSU, rushing for 6.2, 6.0, and 5.5 yards per carry in his three seasons of work.
Weber’s last game as a Buckeye will also be the finale for retiring head coach Urban Meyer.
Last week, Weber said that was a big motivation to send his coach out with a win.
“That’s something that we take a lot of pride in,” Weber said. “I feel like he deserves it and so do we. So that’s the No. 1 goal.”
You can read Weber’s full statement below.
— Mike Weber (@mikeweberjr) December 17, 2018
Good luck, Mike. Ignore the naysayers who criticize your decision, as you ignored pressure to decommit and switch to TTUN. I wish you success in the NFL. Thanks for all your hard work and contributions these past 4 years. Have fun at the Rose Bowl.
I just don’t get it. The players who have fringe NFL potential, like Mike Weber, are NOT best served by going pro too soon. Yes, I know they “want to take care of their family” and that “it’s hard to ignore the money”. My argument is that another year of improvement typically gets them more money, thus defeating the stated argument, hands down. Jalin Marshall, anyone? I would have liked to see him in the Scarlet and Gray one more year, and not just for my selfish reasons.
Weber is at least leaving after four years. He is what he is. A fifth year isn’t going to change that imo. And for RBs, less wear and tear isn’t a bad thing headed into the NFL. Jalin Marshall left too early. Not everybody likes college. But for every guy like him who made a bad decision are the guys like Mike Thomas and Marshon Lattimore and Denzel Ward and the Bosas who made the right decision. It’s the price of doing business in big-time CFB.
The inclusion of guys like Bosa and Thomas with Mike Weber does nothing but solidify my point. He is NOT one of their caliber. I like him, he’s a good Buckeye, I want him to do as well as possible. In the end, it is likely he will be leaving money on the table, thus NOT doing as well as possible. Yes he is “free” to do it- doesn’t make it wise. If he stayed another year and did good things, he could have elevated himself another entire round in the following draft. That translates to hundreds of thousand of dollars- “more money”. You can wish someone well and disagree with their choice.
While we’re talking “coulds”, he could also suffer a serious injury and cost himself money. He has dealt with injuries every year, so he may feel like he’s playing with fire at this point. There will probably be fewer carries available for him next year as well with the offense moving back to a QB who runs it a little more. And when it comes down to money, the thinking of the player is that the sooner he gets to a second contract, the better. I don’t think one more year in college impacts the likelihood of a second contract, and he will probably never be higher than a 2nd or 3rd rounder regardless, if that. The rookie wage scale makes the second contract the most important thing.
I’m not talking “coulds” with you, especially when you snuck in a “probably” regarding his carries for next season (well, ALMOST snuck in…). The conversation has gone on too long already. He’s “allowed” to do it, like we are “allowed” to do almost anything- doesn’t make it wise. Again, if he gets drafted this draft, any increase in productivity or improvement in skill set from his 5th college year would almost certainly have increased his draft stock for the following year. Since it’s all about money, that means money left on the table. The decision is inconsistent with the stated goal, absent the example of a player destined to be a top 10 pick, which isn’t the case here.
His carries would definitely go down next year.
Oh, my bad- didn’t know you and Doc took a trip in the DeLorean on this one. Can’t argue with an omniscient time traveler! Chat’s over. Might be prudent to see what happens in the draft at this point- unless you know that already too?
LOL. You didn’t want coulds. I don’t see how his carries would increase or even stay the same next year. I don’t see what another year shows the NFL. What does it show the NFL? And I’m commenting in friendly fashion. Maybe you can too!
HE’S A RUNNING BACK Mr. Longtime Clueless Fan!!!!!! What exactly would he learn by staying? How to rehab a torn ACL? How to be a running back in the year 2019? Yeah, I guess he could learn those things.
Bill- the fact that you disagree with me, only confirms that I am right. Thanks for the affirmation, albeit unintentional.
Bill and Tony get it. Not sure what’s hard to comprehend about Weber’s decision? The guy has maxed out his potential and being a RB his body could be done at any play. Weber was wise to return last year and wise to leave this year. Best of luck to him.
That is a great comment.
Kevin- the decision isn’t “hard” to predict or understand; in fact, it is the opposite. The notion that a 21 year old COLLEGE player has “maxed” out his potential is flatly wrong, and the nonsense about his body somehow being more vulnerable than any other due to his position is absurd (what should really good linemen do as sophomores, considering how much pounding they take? Should they be placed in suspended animation and awakened when they are eligible? They take FAR more pounding that RBs yet no one says a word). Yes, Mike W was wise to return last year- REALLY wise. Yes, I wish him the best of luck, of course. The problem is he is almost certainly leaving money on the table by declaring now. If he went another year at OSU and produced and improved- and stayed healthy to shake that tendency that has followed him- he would do better in the following draft. I’m the one who’s not sure what is so hard to comprehend at this point…
Good kid. Got off on a rocky start when Drayton left right after signing day but to his credit of character he stayed a Buckeye, put his head down and worked. I doubt he’ll get drafted or if he does it’ll be in the lower rounds, but better that than get passed up by Master Teague et al. He seems a good workhorse back but just doesn’t have that ‘something special’. Let’s be fair to the kid – very few backs do. I wish him well.
What is that “something special” you speak of? Can’t be toughness or heart or balance or power or productivity or vision….oh, I guess you mean blazing speed. Yes, he’ll be drafted and with a good line he will produce just like the countless other running backs. No talented, proud running back wants to split carries for the THIRD straight season while paychecks await. I give you credit for giving him one last kick before leaving and I look forward to you being wrong….again!!
Bill,
Blazing speed is one thing, but I meant overall. How many times has Weber been stopped for no gain or a loss? Now check out Carlos Hyde or Elliott on those numbers. Every level of football the difficulty to produce goes up an order of magnitude. Weber showed to be a good back at the top of Div I but not elite. Friendly wager says he does not go above the 3rd round.
Completely agree with you Andrew. I don’t think Weber goes above the 5th round if at all. He is too small without the ability to consistently make the first defender miss. I’d like to see his stats regarding yards after contact. And as we’ve seen he has had issues with ball security. However I don’t blame him for taking his chances in the draft as it will be hard to hold off Snead and Teague next year. He is definitely not an elite back and we’ve seen elite. He used to wear #15 in scarlet and gray and now wears #21 for the Cowboys.
I predict he goes in the first round and I would bet ANYTHING! Just kidding. I am fairly sure he will not go above the third round but that would prove nothing. Much goes into that including the devaluing of RB’s. I am only defending his talent level and chances of success in the NFL. You said “I doubt he’ll get drafted” which I found to be another shot of the many you’ve taken at him. I guess we’ll all just wait and see..as far as his success not the round he gets drafted.
Bill,
There are a lot of decent quality backs that never get drafted. Sorry you think I take shots at kids. I don’t. I like Mike Weber the young man, but my evaluation of his talent has nothing to do with what I think of the human being. You’re right that we disagree on his talent level. What I’ve seen I don’t think he’ll be drafted without an eye-popping combine (something else I don’t really see happening, but it could). For Mike’s sake I hope you’re right, but I don’t see it.