Ohio State Football: Former Buckeyes Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde swap pro jerseys in rivalry

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Dallas Cowboys stud rookie Ezekiel Elliott and San Francisco 49ers' Carlos Hyde are now members of two of the most revered NFL franchises.

Once upon a time, Elliott was the young buck freshman while Hyde was a superstar senior for the Ohio State Buckeyes. After Elliott's Cowboys skated by the 49ers 24-17 Sunday, the two reminisced by swapping pro jerseys.

"Zeke is like a little brother to me," Hyde recently told 49ers.com. "I'm definitely going to swap jerseys with him. That's my guy right there."

In 2013, Hyde had 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground for the Buckeyes. The freshman Elliott had 262 yards and two scores on 30 carries.

This season, Hyde has 299 yards and five touchdowns on 73 carries. Elliott has 412 yards and three touchdowns on 94 carries for the Cowboys. In Sunday's contest, Elliott had 138 yards on 23 carries while Hyde ran for 74 yards on 15 carries.

"He was a guy I got to learn behind when I first got to college," Elliott told 49ers.com. "I saw how physical he was and how good he was after contact. I think that was something that, when I saw in my sophomore year and was trying to work on it – just kind of getting those yards after contact, working on my pad level. I watched a lot of film of him from the year before."

"@EzekielElliott & @elguapo #FootballIsFamily," the Cowboys wrote on Twitter.