My friend that goes to Ohio St and I were just talking about our favorites of all time, and decided to make a list and compare, so I thought I'd post it and see if any readers had disagreements. So here's my 50 favorite Bucks ever.
(Authors note: These are only players that I remember playing at OSU, so greats like Cris Carter, Chris Spielman, Archie Griffin, etc. are not included. (*) Indicates starters on the '95 Rose Bowl team, (^) indicates starters on the '02 National Championship team, the two greatest teams in my Buckeye history. (#) Indicates current player.)
50. Tom Tupa, QB/P
49. Pepe Pearson, RB
48. Ben Hartsock, TE^. Any player that had a big influence on the '02 National Championship is gonna be on the list. You'll see.
47. Ashton Youboty, DB
46. Brian Robiskie, WR#
45. Terrelle Pryor, QB#. See me in two years and see how high this guy is on the list.
44. Quinn Pitcock, DL
43. Vernon Gholston, DL
42. Darion Scott, DL^
41. Dustin Fox, DB^
40. Shane Olivea, OL^. Protected Krenzel and opened holes for Clarett all day long.
39. Alex Stepanovich, OL^. "See #40"
38. Cie Grant, LB^. Had the infamous hit on Ken Dorsey on 4th down in OT.
37. LeCharles Bentley, OL*. Too bad his Browns career didn't work out because of injuries.
36. Nick Mangold, OL
35. Na'il Diggs, LB*
34. Marcus Freeman, LB#
33. Anthony Gonzalez, WR
32. Malcolm Jenkins, DB#
31. Donte Whitner, DB
30. Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson, DL
29. Korey Stringer, OL*. Almost as good as Pace was, tragic death cut his pro career short.
28. Matt Wilhelm, LB^
27. Will Allen, DB. Had the pick against that school up north to seal the '06 victory and a trip to the National Championship.
26. Mike Vrabel, DE*. OSU's all-time sack leader until Gholston broke it last year.
25. Will Smith, DE^. Two-time All-American, also shares a name with the greatest entertainer of all time.
24. Maurice Clarett, RB^. Would be much higher if he stayed instead of being a dick. Currently still in jail I believe. Either way, we don't win the title without him.
23. Joe Germaine, QB*. Led the incredible comeback drive to win the Rose Bowl. Set 11 school records as a senior.
22. Santonio Holmes, WR
21. Michael Jenkins, WR^. Tough call between him and Sant, but Jenks won a championship and Holmes is a steeler.
20. Terry Glenn, WR
19. Ahmed Plummer, DB*. Captain of the defense that dominated teams.
18. Chris Gamble, WR/DB/PR/KR^. The man can do it all. Two-way starter on a championship team.
17. James Laurinaitis, LB#
16. Andy Katzenmoyer, LB*. It's a shame injuries and other obstacles cut his pro career short. The dude was a stud at OSU.
15. Nate Clements, DB*
14. Joey Galloway, WR
13. Donnie Nickey, DB^. Overshadowed by Doss, great player.
12. Troy Smith, QB. I wasn't going to put him this high because I'm still pissed at him for his NC performance, but the guy was sick.
11. Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB#. Could have won the Heisman this year if not for his damn toe.
10. Shawn Springs, DB*
9. Mike Nugent, K^. Maybe it's a little crazy to have a kicker this high, but he was so clutch. Name me another kicker who had several T-shirts made for him. He was unreal.
8. Antoine Winfield, DB*
7. Orlando Pace, OL*. Eddie doesn't get his Heisman without this guy.
6. A.J. Hawk, LB
5. David Boston, WR*
4. Mike Doss, DB^
3. Craig Krenzel, QB^. I get a lot of guff when I talk about how much I love this man, but he did give us a title. I'll worship him till I die.
2. Ted Ginn, WR. I've never seen anyone do what he does. He was such a pleasure to watch.
1. Eddie George, RB*. It's not even close.
Friday, October 3
Favorite Ohio St. Players Of All Time
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
A few comments:
- We don't have any readers.
- Carter and Spielman were my two favorites as a youngster. I wore #36 in Pee-Wee to be like him.
- Excuse me, you must have meant: Tom Tupa, P/QB
- Pryor is too good - I expect him to break your top 10.
- I played on Cie Grant's team in high school.
- It's easy to forget how good Holmes was because of the attention Ginn drew.
- Donnie Nickey is too high here, I'd say. I guess it's your favorites, so it's corrct by definition, but eh.
- Surprised Smith is as low, Florida game or no. Can I interest you in some stories of games against a certain blue and yellow opponent?
- Eddie George rules, no doubt. My top 5 would probably include George, Smith, Spielman, Carter, and Pace.
Here's a challenge: put together the best Buckeye starting 22 (plus P, K) you can.
- Well by readers, I meant you.
- You really played with Cie Grant? That's freakin awesome.
- Nickey was just as good as Doss was, Doss just got more media attention.
- I was unsure about what to do with Smith. Good call on his 'school up north' performances.
- The starting 22 will be my next project. This list seriously took me over two Black Velvet-filled hours.
Where was Joe Germaine? How does he not make your list? Wow! I'm surprised you didn't put Gamble higher, I would have if I were you.
A few guys I remember, being a few years older than you (remember this was right before Penn State joined the Big 10 so i actually liked OSU back then): I was a big Raymont Harris fan, for whatever reason. He was a tough back that always ran hard. Bobby Hoying always impressed me. His poor record against Michigan is the only thing holding him down. Robert Smith and Butler B'Note were quality backs that i enjoyed watching. Smith, of course, had the quality NFL career. Chris Sanders was an underrated WR because Galloway got all the attention, but he could fly as well. Stanley Jackson didn't have the true QB skills of a Joe Germaine, but damn was he a gamer. That's just a few of my favorites, before my team joined your conference and I had no choice but to start hating the Buckeyes.
Top 22 Buckeyes (of our era, with apologies to Art Schlichster Archie Griffin, Chris Carter and Bobby Knight)
QB- Troy Smith
RB- Eddie George, Maurice Clarett
WR- Joey Galloway, David Boston, Terry Glenn
TE- Ben Hartsock
OL- Orlando Pace, Nick Mangold, Korey Stringer, Shane Olivea, Alex Stepanovich
DL- Dan Wilkinson, Will Smith, Simon Frasor
LB- AJ Hawk, James Laurinitis, Matt Wilhelm, Andy Katzenmoyer
DB- Mike Doss, Chris Gamble, Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements
P- AJ Trapasso
K- Mike Freaking Nugent
Just an objective viewer's perspective. Feel free to agree or disagree.
I was thinking of Germaine when I typed Bellisari. It is now changed. The BV might have been kicking in at that point.
Post a Comment