Explanation of the points system: two top ten lists were compiled, one for the community based upon comments and votes, the other based upon the resumes of the players mentioned on the thread. First on a list = ten points, second = nine, and so on.
10. Dane Sanzenbacher, 2007-2010 WR, 3 points
Dane didn’t have typical size for a split end, but he knew how to be in the right place at the right time to make a big play.
For his career he would haul in 124 receptions for 1,879 yards and 19 touchdowns. A bulk of those statistics came in his 2010 season, when he reeled in 55 catches for 948 yards (ninth most in a single season for a buckeye receiver) and 11 scores. This year was good enough for a first-team All-Big Ten selection and to be awarded the team MVP. His leadership as a captain that same year was instrumental to a Sugar Bowl run, which he added to a 2009 Rose Bowl win and a 4-0 career record against the skunks.
9. Aaron Craft, 2010-2014 PG, 5 points
Aaron is one of the soundest defenders I've ever been around. He has been phenomenal for our team all season long and it has been amazing to coach him.
Santa Cruz (the D-league team Craft plays for) coach Casey Hill.
Aaron Craft didn’t even average double figures in scoring for his buckeye career (8.9 PPG is solid but not extraordinary) but he did everything else a point guard does just about the best in buckeye history.
Now I did have some reservation about placing Craft on this list since 6’2” is average for a college point guard, but he made a lot of big defensive plays on bigger guys and hustled like none other.
Aaron holds the career Ohio State record for steals with 337, and the top two single steal seasons with 98 in the 2011-2012 year and 89 in 2013-2014. He’s the only Ohio State basketball player to get seven steals in a game twice. His ability to facilitate was incredible as well, he owns the career record for assists with 694 and his 15-dime performance against George Mason on March 20th of 2011 is the buckeye single-game record.
Craft averaged 2.3 steals and 4.7 assists per game in his career. His leadership helped Ohio State to three consecutive sweet sixteens from 2011 to 2013 with a final four appearance in 2012.
7(t). Ryan Shazier, 2011-2013 LB, 8 points
I knew, kind of, that if we weren't making plays that Ryan was going to come there and make a play. Ryan was going to be able to do a lot of things that other guys couldn't do.
Joshua Perry
Shazier was average sized for a college linebacker at 6’2” and 230 pounds, but he sure didn’t hit like it. Using athleticism to his advantage, he totalled 317 tackles (210 solo), 45.5 TFLs, 15.0 sacks, 1 interception that was a pick six, and 4 forced fumbles. This included 144 tackles with 23.5 for loss in 2013. He was named first-team All-Big Ten in 2012 and 2013.
7(t). Mike Doss, 1999-2002 S, 8 points
This 5’10” buckeye legend holds the impressive accolade of the most career tackles by a safety in the history of the football team, with 331. Doss was named first-team All-Big Ten three consecutive seasons from 2000 through 2002 and was named an All-american the final of those three years.
As a captain in 2002 he was instrumental in the team’s national championship run, making some key plays in the final game:
Mike had 8 picks with one pick six on his tenure with a kick return touchdown.
6. Jacoby Boren, 2012-2015 C, 9 points
Considering the average power five offensive lineman checks in around 6’5” and 305 pounds, for Boren to make 28 career starts (46 total games played) at 6’2” 285 is quite the feat. This member of “the slobs” made enough of an impact to be named a captain in 2015. His blocking assisted in a national title in 2014 and a Fiesta Bowl win in 2015.
5. Scoonie Penn, 1998-2000 G, 10 points
Scoonie Penn was a transfer from Boston College that could fly like an Eagle. Steve Miller puns aside, the less-than-six-foot point guard would score 16.3 points per game in his time donning the scarlet and gray, averaging 16.9 in the 1999-2000 season. He racked up the assists at a 4.3 career rate in addition.
Penn got it done on the defensive side too, swiping the ball a total of 136 times over his two seasons at a pace of 2.1 a game. He would be named Big Ten player of the year for 1998-1999 and a second-team All-american in the 1999-2000 campaign. Ohio State would make a final four in 1998-1999 with Penn running the point.
3(t). Jay Burson, 1986-1989 G, 13 points
Ohio State’s 8th all-time leading scorer (1,756 points with 19.5 coming in the average game) weighed only 155 pounds.
The six-foot even scrapper started all three seasons he played with the buckeyes and consistently improved his scoring totals each year. He was a consistent in solid scorer that was a key component in the buckeye attack for his tenure.
Want an idea of his impact? Before he broke his neck to end his final season during game 24, Burson was averaging 22.1 points per game and Ohio State’s record was 17-6 and outscoring opponents 84.2-74.1 on the average game. After he was hurt, the team went 0-8 to close the year and was outscored 67.6-80.8 (credit to Faux_Maestro for digging that up on the first thread).
3(t). Troy Smith, 2003-2006 QB, 13 points
Troy Smith, at 5’11” and 225 pounds, led Ohio State to three straight wins over TTUN, a Fiesta Bowl win, and a 2006 undefeated regular season. He is seventh all-time on the buckeye passing list with 5,720 yards and fourth in passing scores with 54.
He could scramble too, as rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a quarterback is very commendable. Some highlights for you all to gander upon:
Troy is most famous, of course, for his 2006 campaign in which he took the Heisman trophy by a landslide of historic proportions. In that year he threw for a total of 2,542 yards (6th most in a single season for Ohio State) and completed 65.3 percent of his passes. Throw on a then-buckeye record 30 scores through the air and you have a campaign quite worthy of the heisman landslide with a complementary team captain, team MVP, All-american, and Davey O’Brien Award naming.
1(t). Antoine Winfield, 1996-1998 CB, 19 points
For my size, all I wanted (was) to go out there and play hard every time I stepped on the field. I was very confident in my ability. I knew I could do pretty much anything once I got on the field.
Antoine Winfield
Reggie Germany, the former buckeye receiver, came and spoke to my high school football team when I was a junior at a camp in Ohio Dominican University. He told us a story about coming in as the number one receiver in the country out of high school and thinking he was Mr. Everything going into his first contact practice at Ohio State.
His first rep with the offense began, and he split out wide. Lined up across from him was a 5’9” corner by the name of Antoine Winfield. The ball was set and Reggie burst from the line, only to be checked hard coming off by Winfield and then ran into the water cooler on the sideline. “Welcome to Ohio State,” Antoine said.
Antoine Winfield, for his size, was a legendary hitter for a program historically full of them. He could tackle the biggest of tight ends and run stride-for-stride with the fastest receivers. An incredible defensive back and one of the centerpieces of the 1998 defense that allowed just 12 points a game and recorded two shutouts to lead Ohio State to a Sugar Bowl win that season. Winfield added this to a 1996 Rose Bowl ring.
The hard-nosed DB would bring home All-american honors in 1998 and the Jim Thorpe award as the nation’s best secondary defender. He was a team captain that season.
1(t). Archie Griffin, 1972-1975 RB, 19 points
He’s a better young man than he is a football player, and he’s the best football player I’ve ever seen.
Woody Hayes
Tied atop this list and measuring in at just 5’9” is the one and only Archie Griffin. You don’t have to follow Ohio State closely to know that name.
Three words come to mind when I think of Griffin: So. Many. Yards. The Ohio State rushing record with 5,589 of ‘em, averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Archie had 31 consecutive games over 100 yards, an NCAA record that stands to this day. His three straight seasons over 1,400 yards is another incredible feat. He led the nation with 1,695 yards in 1974.
Speaking of the nation, they took notice of Griffin’s performance. He was named an All-american twice, first-team All-Big Ten three times, and of course, won back to back heismans for the only time in college football history for his 1974 and 1975 seasons. He was the 1973 and 1974 Team MVP and a team captain in both 1974 and 1975.
He says his favorite accolade, however, is never losing to Michigan.
Honorable Mentions - A.J. Harris (2 points), Brian Rolle (1 point)
Stats credits to sports-reference.com, buckeyefansonly.com, Ohio State's stat leader wiki page, and OhioStateBuckeyes.com's pdf of Men's Basketball Records.
