SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ Curtis Samuel is still waiting for his mother Nicole to come through with the picture, the image of him with his arms outstretched after his game-winning touchdown in overtime against Michigan.
"I'm going to ask her because it should have been on the top of the Christmas tree," Samuel said.
When asked if he meant in place of the star, Samuel said, "Yeah."
That comment might have sounded self-centered, but the tone of Ohio State's junior H-back didn't carry an ounce of that. A month after the fact, he's still excited over the biggest play of his football career, the one that put OSU into the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson on Saturday in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
Yet when he talked Tuesday about his journey from high school running back to Ezekiel Elliott's backup during the 2014 national championship season to a legitimate receiving threat and first-team All-America, there is a sense that much of Samuel's talents are still to be tapped.
"In high school, every little combine or camp event I went to I played receiver, I never played running back," Samuel said of his days at Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, N.Y. "I was kind of comfortable in high school, but the plays we ran were sweeps and bubble screens. I didn't know about running routes and 15-yard curls."
Samuel arrived at Ohio State thinking he was just going to be a running back. As a true freshman behind Elliott, he finished as the team's third-leading rusher with 383 yards, averaged 6.6 yards per carry and had seven touchdowns. Then as a sophomore, he was moved into the slot as coach Urban Meyer began comparing him to Percy Harvin, his do-everything star at Florida.
"The footwork was different. As a receiver there's more of a vertical push. My body was so used to horizontal movement, running routes was hard for me," Samuel said at the J.W. Marriott Camelback Inn. "I kept gathering my feet every time I tried to come out of a route and my routes weren't as crispy.
"It definitely took a lot of time. My first practice was horrible. You could tell I had potential there, but the routes were horrible. (Receivers) Coach (Zach) Smith helped me, coach Meyer, the unit room we had was great, they pushed me, they helped me become the receiver I am today."
Observers believe Ohio State needs its passing game to click to beat Clemson and that means more explosive plays from Samuel, who caught 65 passes for 822 yards and seven touchdowns this season, along with rushing for 704 yards on 91 carries and eight touchdowns. Samuel is the only player in the nation with at least 700 rushing and 700 receiving yards. Of OSU's top five longest plays, Samuel has had three _ a 79-yard reception against Bowling Green, a 75-yard catch against Nebraska and a 74-yard rush against Penn State.
He leads the team with 17 plays of 20 or more yards.
"He has receiver, H-back next to his name, but you could probably throw in five other positions. He's one of the most talented players in the country," Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said, thankful he doesn't have to cover Samuel.
"He's probably the best player on their offense," Clemson safety Jadar Johnson said of Samuel. "We've played against fast guys before, so I don't want to talk about him like we're just so scared of him. He is a good player. I don't think he's played a defense like we have yet."
Michigan devoted All-America cornerback Jourdan Lewis to Samuel in the Nov. 26 clash, but Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables might not copy that.
"Michigan attempted to do that. There's some times when you went, 'OK, that's good.' But some other times when you're trying to be perfectly matched up and it screws everything else up and (they) gave up some plays because everybody had to adjust off of one guy. It's a lot harder to do than you think," Venables said.
Venables thinks the Harvin comparison is valid, even though he believes Samuel is more versatile.
"Percy had incredible speed. Samuel can get at tailback and really be effective, explosive running the football out of the pistol or the offset and running the jet sweep," Venables said. "He lines up in that slot and does a heckuva job as a receiver, too. Kind of can do it all. You just don't see that very much in college football. We don't have that guy on offense. I'm not sure we've seen any other single player like him this year."
Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner knew Samuel would be a star when he saw how electric he was on his high school recruiting videos.
"He came here early and went through spring practice. Every Saturday scrimmage, he would have a 50-plus yard run and I was like, 'Wow,' " Warinner said on Dec. 15. "There aren't many people who can run through Ohio State's defense with that kind of speed and nobody can catch them. He's the one guy who showed he could do that in his first spring on campus.
"Through his own hard work and the hard work of his position coaches at running back and wide receiver, he has developed those skills. He is something."
It wasn't until his sophomore year in high school that Samuel found the drive to get the most out of his special talents.
"After my sophomore year, getting all the attention I did, I paid more attention to getting better. I understand I've got a great opportunity to go to college for free. That sparked me and helped me become a better player," he said.
Ohio State center Pat Elflein watched closely as Samuel's development from running back to jack-of-all-trades evolved.
"We knew going in this kid was going to make plays, just from his past and how explosive he was and seeing what he can do in practice," Elflein said on Dec. 6. "He had his opportunity to be our go-to guy and he definitely took advantage and made a name for himself here."
