Urban Meyer Bringing Familiar Faces To Jacksonville

Urban Meyer is new to the NFL. He has already solidified himself as one of the best college football coaches of all time, but this is an entirely new beast. In order to make the transition, Meyer wants at least some familiarity.

He started by bringing his former defensive coordinator at Florida, Charlie Strong, to Jacksonville. But now he's gone from bringing in coaches to even bringing in players.

According to Adam Schefter with ESPN, the Jaguars signed free agent running back Carlos Hyde to a two-year, $6 million deal on Monday. Hyde was Meyer's starting running back at Ohio State during his first two seasons in Columbus.

During their two-year stint together as Buckeyes, Hyde totaled 2,689 yards (2,491 rushing, 198 receiving) and 35 touchdowns. That helped Hyde become a second-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

So far, he has lived up to the hype of a high Day 2 pick, and he's a nice rotational piece who can handle early-down work when needed.

Just two seasons ago, the 6-foot, 230-pound runner posted a career-high in rushing yards (1,070) in Houston. In his seven seasons, he's rushed for 4,726 yards and 36 touchdowns, but he's only added 802 yards and three scores through the air.

Fortunately, he won't be asked to be the primary ball-carrier in Jacksonville. Second-year undrafted free agent James Robinson put up a stellar rookie season with the team. He tied Hyde's career-high in rushing yards (1,070) in his first season, but he also added 344 yards receiving and 10 total touchdowns to that number as well. At 5-10, 220, he's a compact running back with the versatility needed to help out Trevor Lawrence.

In other words, don't expect a huge workload for Hyde. But I'm sure it's nice to get the band back together -- or at least a few members anyway.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.