There are 24 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 rubric* listed at the bottom of this article.
 

NO. 24 RANDY GRADISHAR, LB (1971-73)
Born: 1952 (Warren, Ohio)
High School: Champion
 

OHIO STATE CAREER

• The Buckeyes were 25-6 with Grandishar on the team.
• 1972 Big Ten Title.
• 1973 Big Ten Title.
• Defeated USC 42-21 to win the 1974 Rose Bowl.
• 1973 defense held the first ten opponents to 43 total points.
• Finished 6th in the 1973 Heisman voting.

HONORS

• 1973 All-American.
• 1973 Academic All-American.
• 1973 All-Big Ten.
• 1973 Academic All-Big Ten.
• 1972 All-American
• 1972 All-Big Ten.
• 1971 All-Big Ten.
• 1983 Inducted into the Ohio State Varisty O Hall of Fame.
• 1987 Inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
• 1992 Inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame.
• 1998 Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
• 2000 Named to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team.
• 2000 Named to ABC Sports All-Century Team as inside linebacker.
• Ohio State's outstanding linebacker award is named the Randy Gradishar Award.

NFL DRAFT
Round 1 to the Denver Broncos with the 14th pick of the 1974 draft.

Randy Grandishar's career per The Ohio State Team Guide:

Randy Gradishar was referred to by Woody Hayes as “the best linebacker I ever coached at Ohio State.” He was a two-time All-American and is considered one of the most versatile, mobile and complete linebackers ever to play college football.

Gradishar was a three-year starter between 1971 and 1973 and recorded 320 total tackles. He finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting as a senior and was the backbone of the 1973 defense, which recorded four shutouts and allowed just 64 points. After graduation, he played 10 years with the Denver Broncos.

During his career, he was a seven-time Pro Bowler, the second most by any Bronco at the end of his career, and he also is the all-time leader in tackles for Denver with 1,958.

He was inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1992. In December of 1998, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Gradishar's thoughts on the 1973 team deserving a national title per Tom Dienhart of BTN.com:

Because of the tie and because we handily beat USC, we thought we would be voted No. 1. But then Notre Dame beats No. 1 Alabama and they ended up No. 1. That was depressing. Still, we felt good about representing the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl and winning that game.

For more information on other players who wore No. 53 go here.

Sources- The Ohio State Team Guide, btn.com and Wikipidia 

ALL PLAYERS COVERED TO DATE