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. Eddie George, 1992-1995 RB, 6 points

I can't imagine another college football player in history having a better work ethic. He is a great athlete with tremendous focus and that is why he did so well at Ohio State and now as a professional. He always was physically and mentally tough and prepared and knew what he wanted. He is very deserving of everything he gets because he works hard for it and never gave up one.

John Cooper

Steady Eddie was an inhumane combination of size, strength, and speed.  These attributes definitely served him well on the goal line or in third and short.  Speaking of the goal line, he would cross it a nation-leading 24 times during his 1995 Heisman campaign, second most in a single season for the history of the program.  He was not only making the drives, he was finishing them.

The team backed Eddie too, as he was named captain and later MVP in 1995.  

7(t). Zeke Elliott, 2013-2015 RB, 7 points

I don’t often get to talk about personal memories with a lot of these players, being as young as I am, but the 2014 Sugar Bowl is as vivid a recollection for me as any in my life.  I was in my Uncle’s basement with about 20 other family memories, watching a huge projection of the game on his wall.  It was third and goal.  We were down 21-6.  I felt like we had played with Alabama extremely well, but after being stopped on the goal line twice before it felt like this next play was necessary if we had a hope of winning the thing.  Then Elliott took an inside zone and plunged his way into the endzone.

This was one of many endzone plunges Zeke would complete in his career with Ohio State.  He got things done when it came to the short yardage, even though he wasn’t the classic “bruiser” as many of the fullbacks on this list.  

7(t). Bob Ferguson, 1959-1961 FB, 7 points

This 215-pound behemoth was the primary focus of Woody Hayes’ “three yards and a cloud of dust” system for three seasons.  And never, not one time as a buckeye, was he stopped for a loss.

After a solid 853 yard and 13 touchdown season in 1960, Ferguson would be the runner-up in the heisman trophy vote and an All-american as 1961’s Team MVP.  The team that won the national title.  He ran for 938 yards and another 11 touchdowns, rounding off his career with 2,162 yards rushing and 26 scores.  

7(t). Orlando Pace, 1994-1996 OT, 7 points

I don't know how you could play the position any better than he did. He was just a fantastic football player. He was the best.

John Cooper

The best lineman ever to play college football could most definitely get it done on the goal line.  Blocking for Eddie George and Pepe Pearson both to clear out holes for crucial first downs and touchdowns, he led Ohio State’s offenses to great success in his three-year tenure.  

I’ve mentioned Pace’s accolades a few times before, but in case you forgot he was twice named an All-american in 1995 and 1996, the only two-time Lombardi Award winner both those years, and he also has an Outland Trophy to his name.  Oh, and who could forget his fourth-place finish for the heisman in 1996.

6. Braxton Miller, 2011-2015 QB, 2015 WR, 8 points

One of the more dynamic athletes ever to play for the buckeyes, Miller could get it done it the short yardage too.  He had the ability to make quick jukes and cuts in tight spaces and elude his way for the necessary distance.  In fact, the play above is probably the most well-earned yard I’ve ever seen.  Not to be forgotten is the great reads he could make in those short yardage situations, of whether to hand it off or keep it.

5. John Brockington, 1968-1970 FB, 10 points

In a punishing and tackle-breaking career for the buckeyes, Brockington was often described as a reckless ball carrier.  He wasn’t afraid to run through anybody, and was out to hit anyone that stood in his way.  

Brockington bulldozed his way to 1,663 career yards and 24 touchdowns, scoring 17 in his senior year when he was named first-team All-Big Ten.  He was also extremely useful as a decoy in goal line situations, allowing Kern and a back to escape around an edge when teams would crash in to try and stop the big guy:

The biggest accomplishment Brockington got was winning two national titles, in 1968 and 1970.

4. Vaughn Broadnax, 1980-1983 FB, 11 points

There was never a better name for a fullback.

In 1982 and 1983 Ohio State had one of the country’s best at running back for back to back seasons, Tim Spencer followed by Keith Byars.  But paving the way for the tough yards down close was one Vaughn Broadnax.  Check out this block down near the goal line against Navy in the 1981 Liberty Bowl:

Broadnax himself would run the ball into the endzone a total of 14 times in his four-year career, with 9 coming in 1982.  He accumulated just over 1,000 yards on the ground in addition.

2(t). Carlos Hyde, 2010-2013 RB, 15 points

Carlos “El Guapo” Hyde would get the ball with two yards or less to go 31 times in the 2013 season... and he averaged 7.5 yards a carry.  

Checking in 235 pounds, Hyde was like a Mack truck driving through the line.  He would cross the final line a career total of 37 times, 5th in Ohio State history.  After exploding for over 1,500 yards in 2013 and getting the buckeyes to a second straight undefeated season, Hyde was named first-team All-Big Ten.

2(t). Jim Otis, 1967-1969 RB, 15 points

Jim Otis might be smiling in that picture, but he was all nastiness on the field.  Only once stopped for a loss in his career, Otis was a force.  The big man rumbled for a ninth-best in school history 34 career touchdowns, 17 of them coming in the 1968 national championship season.

The primary year for Otis to be recognized came in his senior year of 1969 though.  He was named an All-american and took home the team MVP award for that season.

1. Pete Johnson, 1973-1976 RB, 20 points

What better measure of a short yardage runner than the ability to convert on the goal line?  Pete Johnson is Ohio State’s career rushing touchdown leader, scoring 56 times.  Ten more than anyone else to wear scarlet and gray.  Most of them were on those goal line plays, like this one:

Johnson ran for the single-season record 25 touchdowns in 1975, leading the country.  Keep in mind that was the year Archie Griffin won his second heisman.  Griffin got them to the goal line, then Woody would say “alright, let’s take the best player in the history of this school off the field and put in Pete to run it in.”  That’s how good he was close to the endzone.

Honorable Mentions: Randy Gradishar (4 points), Craig Krenzel (3 points), Terrelle Pryor (2 points), Matt Snell (2 points), and Ryan Shazier (2 points)