In 23 days Ohio State will play Oregon State to start the 2018 season. Below you will find a list with the 33 players to wear No. 23 for the Buckeyes since 1935.
Today's featured players are Arnie Chonko, Ron Springs and Tyvis Powell.
| PLAYER | WORN | B1G MVP | TEAM MVP | AA | CAPT. | 1R NFL | ALL B1G | AC AA | NFL DRAFT | AC B1G | LETTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Crow | 1935-37 | 1936-37 | |||||||||
| Fritz Howard* | 1939-40 | 1939-40 | |||||||||
| George Spencer | 1946 | 1946 | |||||||||
| Richard Arledge | 1951 | 1951 | |||||||||
| Robert Koder | 1952 | ||||||||||
| Thomas Crawford | 1957 | 1957 | |||||||||
| Robert Lister | 1959-61 | 1961 | |||||||||
| Arnie Chonko | 1962-64 | 1964 | 1964 | 1964 | 1962-64 | ||||||
| Arnold Fontes | 1965-66 | 1965-66 | |||||||||
| Kevin Rusnak | 1967-69 | 1967-69 | |||||||||
| Thomas Battista* | 1971 | 1971 | |||||||||
| Craig Cassady | 1973-75 | 1976 | 1973-75 | ||||||||
| Ron Springs | 1976-78 | 1978 | 1977 | 1979 | 1976-78 | ||||||
| Doyle Lewis | 1979, 1982 | 1979, 1982 | |||||||||
| Rodney Gorley* | 1983 | 1983 | |||||||||
| Jeff Compton | 1984-86 | ||||||||||
| Marc Hicks | 1988 | 1988 | |||||||||
| Tim Williams | 1990-93 | 1993 | 1990-93 | ||||||||
| Tim Vickers | 1990 | ||||||||||
| Scott Terna* | 1994 | 1994 | |||||||||
| Matt Keller | 1995-99 | 1999 | 1996-99 | ||||||||
| Andy Kzymanowski | 2000 | ||||||||||
| Josh Huston | 2001-05 | 2005 | 2002 | 2001-05 | |||||||
| Scott Petroff | 2001-02 | ||||||||||
| Nick Patterson* | 2006-08 | 2006-08 | |||||||||
| Devin Barclay* | 2009-10 | 2009 | 2009-10 | ||||||||
| Jamie Wood* | 2009 | ||||||||||
| Chad Hagan | 2010-11 | ||||||||||
| Tyvis Powell | 2012-15 | ||||||||||
| Tim Scott | 2013 | ||||||||||
| Devlin McDaniel* | 2015-16 | 2016 | |||||||||
| Jahsen Wint | 2016-18 | ||||||||||
| De'Shawn White | 2018 |
*Wore another number at Ohio State
Did not earn a varsity letter while wearing No. 23
Arnie Chonko, DB (1962-1964)
High School: Parma
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 18-8-1 with Chonko on the team.
1962 Defeated No. 5 Wisconsin 14-7 in Ohio Stadium.
1963 Defeated No. 2 Wisconsin 13-10 in Madison.
1964 Defeated No. 2 Illinois 26-0 in Champaign.
Went 2-1 against That Team.
Honors
The Arnie Chonko Award is given to the best defensive back at the football banquet at the end of each season.
1964 All-American.
1964 All-Big Ten.
1964 Academic All-Big Ten.
1982 Inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.
2000 Named to Ohio State's All-Century Team.
Chonko's senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-2, 204...from Parma, Ohio...is starting his third season as a regular in Ohio State's secondary...played 235 minutes as a sophomore in 1962 and 260 minutes in 1963.
Is a fine pass defender with good body balance and a keen sense of timing...an excellent broken field tackler.
Is an excellent first baseman, batting .355 as a sophomore and .371 last year...won the Potter Runmaker Cup (most valuable to his baseball team in the scoring of runs) as a junior. Is an honor student in pre-medicine, carrying a 3.6 average.
Won All-America and All-Ohio honors in high school...hobbies are progressive jazz and reading. High school coach was Bob Brugge, who played halfback on the undefeated 1944 Buckeye team.
Chonko's Ohio State career per ohiostatebuckeyes.com:
An All-American in both football and baseball, Chonko started in the defensive backfield for the football team from 1962 to 1964. He played first base and was captain of the OSU baseball team which finished second in the 1965 College World Series. In 1964, he became the first All-American defensive back in Buckeye history. Chonko was an all-Big Ten and academic all-Big Ten selection his senior year.
Arnie Chonko's Ohio State career per 10tv.com:
1964 All-American Arnie Chonko had seven picks that season, and 11 for his career, which was second-most at the time. The Parma native also shares the school mark for thefts in a game with three.
Chonko's baseball career per baseball-reference.com:
Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 24th round of the 1965 MLB June Amateur Draft from The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH), the Cleveland Indians in the 4th round of the 1966 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase from The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH) and the New York Mets in the 5th round of the 1967 MLB January Draft-Regular Phase from The Ohio State University.
Arnie Chonko the scholar per phsalumni.org:
Arnie won numerous Scholar-Athlete awards during his career, including two-time All-Academic Big Ten and two-time Academic All-American honors. Arnie was named to the Ohio State All-Century team in both football and baseball and was elected to the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame. He was selected in both the professional baseball and football drafts, but decided to enter the OSU Medical School instead. An accomplished medical doctor, Dr. Chonko was presented the University of Kansas Honorary Alumnus Award for 2007.
Ron Springs, TB (1976-1978)
Born: 1956 (Williamsburg, VA)
Died: 2011
High School: Lafayette
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 25-9-2 with Springs on the team.
1976 Big Ten Title.
1977 Big Ten Title.
1977 Defeated Colorado 27-10 to win the Orange Bowl.
Honors
1978 Captain.
1977 All Big Ten.
Springs' senior bio per the Ohio State Team Guide:
6-2, 198...from Williamsburg, Virginia...was Ohio State's leading ground gainer last year with 1,166 yards...averaged 5.8 yards in 200 carries...caught 16 passes, high on the squad...offensive co-captain...came to Ohio State as an outside runner but is now effective inside.
In three seasons at Lafayette High School, he rushed for 4,030 yards and scored 53 touchdowns...attended Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas for one year where he ran for 1,800 yards and scored 25 touchodowns.
Springs' Ohio State career per Wikipedia:
Before enrolling at Ohio State, Ron Springs attended Coffeyville Community College in 1975, where his 2,047 rushing yards remains a school record.
The following year, he enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played three years under Woody Hayes and led the Buckeyes in both rushing (1,166 yards) and receiving (16 catches for 90 yards) in 1977. In 1978, he was elected a team co-captain.
Springs was the last Buckeye with less than 100 yards receiving on a season to lead the team in receptions. He still ranks 18th on the all time rushing list at Ohio State University with 2,140 yards.
Springs' football career continued when he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1979 NFL Draft. His professional career spanned from 1979-1986.
Springs' NFL career per Wikipedia:
During his rookie season he was the backup for Tony Dorsett and played special teams.
In 1980 he put on 10 pounds during the off-season and won the fullback job from Robert Newhouse, but he was injured in the 5th game and didn't regain the starter position until the next season.
Springs was primarily a blocking back for Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, but he got plenty of opportunities to run and catch in Tom Landry's multiple set offense. In this system he thrived as a versatile player that could run, catch, block, and occasionally even throw the option pass.
In 1981 he gained 984 yards rushing and receiving combined and lead the team with 12 touchdowns and 46 catches. Although his most important role might have been his leadership qualities, that gained him the respect of many people within the Cowboys organization.
In 1983 he set a club record for running backs with 73 catches for 589 yards, that year he also rushed for 541 yards and scored 8 touchdowns.
As many of you know, Ron was the father of Shawn Springs. Shawn also had a stellar Ohio State and NFL career.
In 1990 Ron Springs was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Over the next two decades he would need amputations and surgeries to battle his fight the disease.
Unfortunately Ron Springs passed away in May of 2011 at the age of 54.
Honorary video to Ron Springs:
Tyvis Powell, DB (2012-15)
Born: 1994
High School: Bedford
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 48-4 with Powell on the team.
2014 National Champion.
2012 Big Ten Leaders Title.
2013 Big Ten Leaders Title.
2014 Big Ten Title.
2015 Big Ten East Title.
Defeated No. 1 Alabama 42-35 to win the 2015 Sugar Bowl.
Defeated No. 2 Oregon to win the 2015 CFP National Championship.
Defeated No. 8 Notre Dame to win the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.
Went 4-0 against That Team.
Powell's senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-3, 210...from Bedford, Ohio...Tyvis Powell is a savvy, talented and veteran football player who has personality-plus...a fourth-year junior, he probably has more fun being a Buckeye than anyone on the team and he certainly takes care of his business off the field as well as anyone...he graduated in May 2015---in just three-and-a-half years---with a degree in marketing.
He has played in all 29 games the past two seasons---after red-shirting in 2012---and he has started 20 times, including the last 16 games...is best-of-friends with Cardale Jones.
Ranked No. 33 among all cornerbacks nationally by Rivals.com and the No. 37 safety by Scout.com...a three sport athlete, Powell also played basketball and baseball...ran track instead of playing baseball as a junior, though, to improve his speed...never missed a day of classes while in high school.
Powell had a knack for making game-ending interceptions. In 2013, he intercepted Devin Gardner's pass that would have given Michigan a 2-point conversion and a 43-42 victory. Instead, Ohio State won 42-41 and continued the Buckeyes' dominance over its rival intact.
The following year, Powell picked-off Blake Sims' desperation heave in the end zone to secure Ohio State's 42-35 Sugar Bowl victory. However, he did send many fans into a panic as he raced out of the end zone and tried to score.
The Buckeyes went on to defeat Oregon and win the national championship.
After the 2016 NFL Draft, Powell signed as an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Seahawks. He was released by Seattle in January of 2017. Since then, Powell has been claimed by the Browns, Colts, Seahawks (second time) and 49ers.
Powell is currently on the San Francisco's active roster.
| NAME | YEAR | ROUND | PICK | POSITION | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRAIG CASSADY | 1976 | 8 | 213 | DB | SAINTS |
| RON SPRINGS | 1979 | 5 | 136 | RB | COWBOYS |
| 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 | 71 | 70 |
| 69 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 62 | 61 | 60 |
| 59 | 58 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 52 | 51 | 50 |
| 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 |
| 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
| 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 |
106 days until The Game.
