Freshman running back Jamaal Berry is third on the depth chart behind Brandon Saine and Daniel “Boom” Herron, but depending on his learning curve, Berry could see significant playing time this season.

By Eric Geier

Last year a friend of mine emailed me a link to a YouTube page that contained the highlight reel for incoming freshman running back Jamaal Berry. Somewhat annoyed that I had not seen this recruit first, I watched as Berry burst and plowed his way towards the end zone, always running north to south and always with his eyes on one thing, the end zone.

In high school, Berry showed tremendous breakaway speed and an ability to shed would-be tacklers. Despite a tendency to get tackled easily by the ankles, coaches are impressed with Berry as they continue working on improving his running style in an attempt to keep him from getting ankle tackled.

Berry is pretty much built to run the I-formation system. He rushed for 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns on 140 carries at Miami-Palmetto high school his senior season. But, like virtually every piece of the Buckeye offense, Berry’s productivity can only be as good as his offensive line. However, an inconsistent Buckeye O-line may actually be the best thing for Berry in terms of playing time. Berry is much quicker and makes better cuts than Daniel “Boom” Herron, therefore, if the line can’t block, Tressel may insert Berry in place of Boom in order to elude rushing defenders, creating a Saine-Berry combination in the backfield.

Jamaal Berry- Incoming Statistics

Ht: 5-foot-11
Wt: 185 lbs
Forty: 4.43 secs
Bench reps: 16
Vertical: 37 inches
Shuttle: 4.38 secs

Jamaal Berry 2009 High School Highlights