There are 43 days that separate us from Ohio State's march to Blacksburg. To help pass the time until the Buckeyes put the Sandman to bed I will countdown Ohio State's top 100 players according to the metric* listed at the bottom of this article.

The Buckeyes went 9-3 every season Johnson was on the team.

NO. 43 THOMAS "PEPPER" JOHNSON LINEBACKER (1982-85)
Born: 1964 (Detroit, MI)
High School: Mackenzie High School
 

OHIO STATE CAREER

• The Buckeyes were 36-12 with Johnson on the team.
• Defeated No. 1 Iowa 22-13 in Ohio Stadium in 1985
• Won the 1982 Holiday Bowl defeating BYU 47-17.
• Defeated Pitt 28-23 to win the 1984 Fiesta Bowl.
• Beat No. 9 BYU 10-7 to claim the 1985 Citrus Bowl
• Led the Buckeyes in tackles in 1984 (140) and 1985 (141).
• Finished his Ohio State career with 379 tackles.

HONORS

• 1984 and 1985 Captain.
• 1984 All-American.
• All-Big Ten 1984 and 1985.
• Made Pro Bowl in 1990 and 1994.
• Inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 2001.

NFL DRAFT
Round 2 to the New York Giants with the 51st pick of the 1986 draft.
 

MISCELLANEOUS

• Played in the NFL from 1986-1998.
• Won 5 Super Bowls (XXI, XXV, XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX).
• Was referenced on the Seinfeld episode: The Diplomat's Club.
• Johnson is currently the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills.

Pepper Johnson was a tackling machine.

How did Thomas Johnson become Pepper Johnson?  Per Wikipedia:

Johnson's nickname of "Pepper" originated from his aunt who noticed Johnson liked to put black pepper on his breakfast cereal. Pepper's son, Dionte Johnson (born June 28, 1986) is a former fullback for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Arizona Cardinals. Dionte was elected as a captain of the Ohio State team in 2007, making Pepper and Dionte only the third father-son captains (after Jim and Kirk Herbstreit and James and Jeff Davidson) in Buckeye history.

For more information on other players who wore No. 98 go here.

Sources- Ohio State Team Guide and Wikipedia

ALL PLAYERS COVERED TO DATE