Former Ohio State Great Tom Cousineau Elected to College Football Hall of Fame

Tom Cousineau, once a simple boy at Lakewood St. Edward, came to Ohio State in 1975. When he left in 1978, he did so as a two-time consensus All-American linebacker and a No. 1 overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft.

On Friday, the National Football Foundation announced Cousineau as a 2016 inductee into its College Football Hall of Fame in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Cousineau lettered four times under Woody Hayes and won three Big Ten conference championships. He'll be inducted (along with 13 other players and two coaches) during a ceremony on Dec. 6, 2016 in New York City.

“I am stunned. I am humbled. And I am truly honored to be a part of this Hall of Fame class,” Cousineau said Friday from his home in Akron. “I know there are so many great, great players who will never see the College Football Hall of Fame. It is my understanding that it is really tough to get consensus with so many great players on the ballot, so the fact I have been elected into the Hall of Fame is a testament to the incredible teammates I was fortunate to play alongside and just wonderful news to receive. I am very appreciative and thankful for this honor.”

Cousineau finished his Ohio State with 572 tackles in 47 games, good for second all-time on the school's charts.

Cousineau still holds five Ohio State records including single season total tackles (211 in 1978), solo tackles (142 in 1978) and assisted tackles (102 in 1978); and single game records for solo tackles (16 vs. SMU in 1978 with Ryan Shazier tying it in 2013 vs. Indiana) and assisted tackles (20 vs. Penn State in 1978).

Cousineau was part of Ohio State teams that went 36-10-2 and 28-4 in the Big Ten, were three-time Big Ten champs and were selected to play in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl after each of the seasons he played. Ohio State was a Top 5 team for 36 weeks over these four years and the No. 1 team in the nation for eight weeks in 1975, and ultimately finished fourth, sixth and 12th in the final Associated Press polls in 1975, 1976 and 1977, respectively.

After graduating from Ohio State in 1979 with a degree in business marketing and journalism, Cousineau played 10 seasons of professional football, including six NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns (1982-85) and the San Francisco 49ers (1986-87). His pro career includes three years with Montreal of the Canadian Football League.