Another 72 sunsets until Ohio State plays Oregon State to start the 2018 season. Throughout the years 32 players have worn No. 72 for the Buckeyes. Today's piece will feature Kurt Schumacher, Joe Lukens and Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson. Two of today's featured players have entered the business world.
| PLAYER | WORN | B1G MVP | TEAM MVP | AA | CAPT. | 1R NFL | ALL B1G | AC AA | NFL DRAFT | AC B1G | LETTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Newlin | 1938-39 | 1939 | |||||||||
| Fritz Howard* | 1941 | 1941 | |||||||||
| Robert Jabbusch* | 1942 | 1945 | 1942 | ||||||||
| John Stungis* | 1943 | 1943 | |||||||||
| Norman McElheny | 1944 | 1944 | |||||||||
| Charles Fazio | 1945-48 | 1945-48 | |||||||||
| Joseph Campanella | 1950 | 1951 | 1950 | ||||||||
| James Schumacher | 1952-53 | 1952-53 | |||||||||
| John Martin* | 1956-57 | 1956-57 | |||||||||
| James Matz* | 1958 | 1958 | |||||||||
| Charles Jentes | 1960 | 1960 | |||||||||
| Lee Morehead | 1962 | ||||||||||
| Richard Anderson | 1964-65 | 1964-65 | |||||||||
| Rufus Mayes* | 1966 | 1966 | |||||||||
| Charles Hutchison | 1967-69 | 1969 | 1970 | 1967-69 | |||||||
| Gregory Mountz | 1971 | 1971 | |||||||||
| Kurt Schumacher | 1972-74 | 1974 | 1975 | 1973, 1974 | 1972-74 | ||||||
| Mark Sullivan* | 1975-78 | 1975-78 | |||||||||
| Joseph Lukens | 1979-82 | 1982 | 1980, 1981, 1982 | 1983 | 1980 | 1979-82 | |||||
| Mike Machinsky | 1983 | ||||||||||
| Ray Conlin | 1984 | 1984 | |||||||||
| Larry Kotterman | 1985-86 | 1985-86 | |||||||||
| Henry Brown* | 1987 | 1988 | 1987 | ||||||||
| Corey Pargo | 1990 | 1990 | |||||||||
| Dan Wilkinson | 1992-93 | 1993 | 1994 | 1992, 1993 | 1992-93 | ||||||
| Jamie Sumner | 1994-95 | 1994-95 | |||||||||
| Marcus Perez | 1996-2000 | 1999-00 | |||||||||
| T.J. Downing | 2002-06 | 2006 | 2004-06 | ||||||||
| Dexter Larimore | 2007-10 | 2007, 2008, 2009 | 2007-10 | ||||||||
| Scott Silka* | 2008-10 | 2010 | |||||||||
| Chris Carter | 2011-13 | 2012 | |||||||||
| Tyler Gerald | 2016 | ||||||||||
| Tommy Togiai | 2018 |
*Wore another number at Ohio State
Did not earn a varsity letter while wearing No. 72
Kurt Schumacher, OT (1972-74)
Born: 1952 (Cleveland)
Ohio State
The Buckeyes went 29-4-1 with Schumacher on the team.
Won 3 Big Ten Championships.
Defeated USC 42-21 in the 1974 Rose Bowl.
Went 2-0-1 against That Team.
Honors
1974 All-American.
1974 All-Big Ten.
1973 All-Big Ten.
Schumacher's bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-4, 250...from Lorain...will be the starting left tackle...overshadowed by Outland Trophy winner John Hicks last year but could gain All-America honors this season if he plays up to his potential...started all eleven games last year and played 291 minutes...an intelligent player who adjusts rapidly to defensive shifts...very strong and has excellent techniques...backed up Hicks as a sophomore.
Was an All-American and all-Ohio fullback-linebacker in high school...a good prep wrestler and discus thrower...hobbies are music and camping...wants to become a teacher and coach after graduation...from a family of four...very dependable athlete.
Kurt Schumacher's reaction to Jim Tressel's resignation by thesportingnews.com (May, 2011):
“I sent (Jim Tressel) an e-mail a few weeks ago -- just encouragement -- told him to hang tough and don’t let this be the last thing that people remember you for at Ohio State and I guess that’s in part kind of where I am … I feel very bad for him in that, I played for Coach (Woody) Hayes and 35 years later when I talk to people and they ask where I played, I tell them Ohio State and they say, ‘Oh yeah, you played for Woody? What about when he punched that player?’ We remember people for the last thing they do. It’s not right. But that doesn’t mean that’s not what we do. Woody deserved much more than that and Jim deserves much more than that for the quality of program he’s run, the way he’s carried himself and, by in large, the way the kids have represented the university.
“The other thing, the kids who caused this are getting off way too easy. They are old enough to know what they did was wrong. (Terrelle) Pryor, if I remember correctly, was reported as having tweeted ‘I paid for my tats’. I don’t know what should be done or can be done, but they’re getting off way too easy.
“I’ll fess up, I’m old school as it relates to the whole discipline thing. If the kids -- and I’m not just talking about the five kids from Ohio State -- if the kids knew the punishment for breaking the rules was severe, I would suggest to you that fewer kids would break the rules.”
Joe Lukens, OG (1979-82)
Born: 1961
High School: Arch Bishop Moeller (Cincinnati)
Ohio State
The Buckeyes went 38-10 with Lukens on the team.
Won 2 Big Ten Championships.
Went 11-1 in 1979, only loss was to USC 16-17 in the 1980 Rose Bowl.
Defeated Navy 31-28 in the 1981 Liberty Bowl.
Defeated BYU 47-17 in the 1982 Holiday Bowl.
Went 3-1 against That Team.
Honors
1982 Captain.
1982 All-Big Ten.
1981 All-Big Ten.
1980 All-Big Ten.
Miscellaneous
Co-Founder and President of Neace-Lukens Insurance:
oe Lukens is also a native of Greater Cincinnati. Joe was awarded his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the Ohio State University and went on to receive his master of business administration from Xavier University...
Joe has been the driving force in the expansion of the Assured Neace Lukens organization and has been instrumental in the development of specialty programs for the healthcare industry, specifically nursing homes, group homes and assisted living facilities, which have been accessed by facilities throughout the country...
Assured Neace Lukens is ranked in the top 50 largest insurance agencies in the United States, with nearly 550 employees and offices in seven states. The company is recognized for exceptional customer service and as one of the best places to work in Kentucky.
Created sportsleader.org:
SportsLeader was started when former Ohio State football player Joe Lukens and Louisville businessman and coach Paul Passafiume independently saw the need for a new type of sports virtue program.
They saw the world of sports drifting away from it's original ideals; at the same time, they realized that sports, and the coach in particular, can play a pivotal role in the virtuous development of young people.
Lukens' bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-4, 262...One of the top guards in college football...has started 35 of 36 games the past three years, missing only the opener his freshman year...played tackle in 1979 and was a second team all-Big Ten choice...was a first team all-conference guard in 1980 and '81...consistently grades to winning performances in coaches' film study...one of three captains for 1982.
Was a high school All-American at Moeller High, coached by Gerry Faust...a good student in pre-veterinary medicine...an older brother, Bill, captained the 1976 Big Ten co-champions.
Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson, DT (1992-93)
Born: 1973 (Dayton)
High School: Dayton Dunbar
Ohio State
The Buckeyes went 18-4-2 with Wilkinson on the team.
1993 won the Big Ten Championship.
Defeated BYU 28-21 in the 1993 Holiday Bowl.
The Bengals selected Wilkinson with the first pick of the 1994 NFL Draft.
Honors
1993 All-American.
1993 All-Big Ten.
1992 All-Big Ten.
1993 Bill Willis Award.
2003 Sports Illustrated All Pro.
Miscellaneous
In 2007 Wilkinson opened various AAMCO service centers in Lancaster and southern Ohio. From The Columbus Dispatch (January, 2008):
LANCASTER, Ohio -- After 13 years in the NFL, former Buckeye great Dan Wilkinson plans to open a string of AAMCO service centers in southern Ohio.
His inspiration? A 1970 Cadillac he bought as a teenager for $250 and then restored.
"It was my high-school pride and joy," Wilkinson, 34, said recently at his station in Lancaster. "In the latter years of my playing career, I really looked at the automotive business."
Wilkinson opened the Lancaster operation in late October. It's the first of seven he plans in southern Ohio in the next few years; one in Chillicothe, on N. Bridge Street, is next in line.
Wilkinson said he has no partners in the projects. When all seven are open, he plans to rotate among them, possibly working at three each week.
"I'm going to be involved in the first shop to the seventh shop," he said. "My involvement will be hands-on."
The former No. 1 pick in the NFL draft said he chose Ohio because it's where he grew up. But because he played for the Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Bengals, there's probably no place in the country where he is as well known -- which is important for a new business, said H. Rao Unnava, marketing professor at Ohio State University.
Wilkinson's bio per the Ohio State Team Guide:
6-5, 300...One of the top defensive tackles in college football even though he is only a sophomore...coming off a superb freshman year in which he won first-team all-Big Ten honors...has a tremendous combination of size, speed, strength and athletic ability...made big play after big play as a rookie, winding up with 46 total tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and a team high 6.5 quarterback sacks...excellent pass rusher who overpowers some players and out-quicks others.
Top game last year in terms of tackles was against Illinois, where he had a career high 10, three of which were sacks for a minus 27 yards...saved the day in the season opener against Louisville, forcing quarterback Jeff Brohm to hurry his throw on a two-point conversion attempt at the end of the game (OSU won 20-19)...can dominate and will only get better.
Wilkinson's Ohio State career per The Ohio State Team Guide:
Dan Wilkinson played just two years of football for Ohio State, but in those two seasons he established himself as one of the best defensive linemen ever to wear the Scarlet and Gray. Redshirted as a true freshman in 1991, the 6-5, 300-pound Wilkinson, known as “Big Daddy,” started as a sophomore in 1992 and won all-Big Ten honors.
Blessed with an incredible combination of size, strength and speed, he finished his rookie year with 46 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. As a junior in 1993, Wilkinson was the dominant defensive linemen in college football, winding up the year with 44 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. No one could block him one-on-one. At season’s end, he again won all-Big Ten laurels and was a consensus All-America pick.
The Cincinnati Bengals made him the first selection in the NFL draft in April, 1994. The Dayton, Ohio, native played 13 seasons in the NFL.
Today, Wilkinson resides in Central Ohio.
| NAME | YEAR | ROUND | PICK | POSITION | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOB JABBUSCH* | 1945 | 17 | 174 | OG | GIANTS |
| JOE CAMPANELLA | 1952 | 3 | 36 | LB | BROWNS |
| RUFUS MAYES** | 1969 | 1 | 14 | OT | BEARS |
| CHUCK HUTCHISON | 1970 | 2 | 38 | OG | CARDINALS |
| KURT SCHUMAKER | 1975 | 1 | 12 | OT | SAINTS |
| JOE LUKENS | 1983 | 11 | 306 | OG | DOLPHINS |
| DAN WILKINSON | 1994 | 1 | 1 | DT | BENGALS |
*Was in the Army when selected by the Giants.
**Wore No. 73 when drafted.
| 99 | 98 | 97 | 96 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 90 |
| 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 80 |
| 79 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 72 |
155 days until The Game.
