When you hear the name Wells associated with Ohio State running backs, the first name that comes to mind is Chris "Beanie" Wells, of course. But before Beanie there was another talented runner named Maurice Wells who the Buckeyes held in high regard.

Senior Maurice Wells was considered one of the top running backs in the country coming out of high school, rushing for career totals of 5,955 yards and 55 touchdowns. However, that type of production never translated onto the playing field in college for whatever reason.

Wells seemingly got lost in the shuffle behind Beanie and Daniel "Boom" Herron and became a forgotten man. Now the one-time High School All-American will take the long road to fulfilling his dream of playing in the NFL.

During a phone interview with Wells on Monday, he expressed his desire to play in the pros and why he never lived up to his ability performance wise while at Ohio State.

Beanie 'better fit'

"Beanie came in as a pretty high recruit and fit their style of offense a little better than I did," Wells said. "He's a power runner with speed who can run up the middle and run the safety over for the score. Whereas I was a one-cut get- up-the-field type of runner. When Antonio Pittman left school the job was his to do what he wanted to do with it. I guess you can say I got lost in the shuffle."

Wells was highly recruited himself taking official visits with Georgia Tech, Maryland and USC before settling on Ohio State.

It was hard for the former high school star running back to get used to being in a back-up role. In fact, it was a major disappointment to him.

"It was difficult at first," Wells said. "I looked at it like I could rebound from it my junior and senior year. I was just trying to stay positive. You want to talk about handling adversity. I was actually getting ready to transfer after my sophomore year, but I talked to the coaches and they convinced me to stay around. The coaches said they would find ways to utilize me and Beanie to help with the offense."

No regrets

Wells carried the ball a total of 142 times for 496 yards and three touchdowns in his last two seasons with the Buckeyes.

When asked if he regrets the decision to stay in Columbus, Wells didn't mix words.

"I'm happy with my decision," he said. "I stuck it out and feel good about it. Ohio State is a great university and if football doesn't work out I have a great education to fall back on."

Wells is set to graduate this spring.

A tough road lies ahead for Wells from a football standpoint. He hasn't received an invite to the Combine nor to play in any All-Star games thus far. Wells is fully aware that his future of playing football in the NFL hinges on the school's Pro Day in March. Knowing that this may be his last shot to impress some team, he's preparing to surprise scouts when the time comes.

Wells said he is working out hard and hopes to open some eyes with his performance during the workout. If he performs well then the individual workouts from teams will come.

Plenty of speed

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Wells is a versatile back with exceptional speed, quickness, acceleration and initial burst. He has good vision, blocks well and is solid receiver out of the backfield. Not to mention durable. It would be unfair to call Wells a scatback, but is a very shifty, outside runner who can turn the corner with his 4.3/40 speed. Wells is also a quick study with the playbook.

The downside is Wells lacks lower-body strength to break tackles and leg drive to move the pile in short-yard situations. He needs to demonstrate more patience running between the tackles and shifting out of cuts. There could be a place for Wells at the next level as a situational type back. He has the talent to flourish in that role.

Bottom line: Wells must learn to consistently play up to his level of talent and ability when given the opportunity.

If all goes according to plan maybe this Wells will hear his name called on draft day.