At the team's media day this weekend, Jim Harbaugh revealed all-american defensive back Jourdan Lewis will play both sides of the ball for Michigan in 2016. Lewis joins teammate Jabrill Peppers as players who will contribute "in multiple ways" for the Wolverines.
Michigan fans are understandably excited about the idea of having two of their top athletes play both sides of the ball. They have been waiting for the next Charles Woodson since, well, Charles Woodson.
Obviously, Woodson is the first to come to mind when a Michigan fan thinks of someone playing both sides of the ball, but who are Ohio State's most memorable two-way players?
Chris Gamble
Chris Gamble is without doubt Ohio State's memorable two-way player. As a sophomore on Jim Tressel's 2002 BCS National Championship season, Gamble rarely left the field. He played wide receiver and cornerback and also returned punts and kicks.
Gamble regularly played over 100 snaps a game during the 2002 campaign, topping that number in Ohio State's last three regular season games including 128 in the team's three-overtime win over Illinois.
“He’s extraordinary," said Tressel of Gamble. "The offensive and defensive coaches kind of fight over him. There’s no doubt he’s special.”
Gamble was drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers where he played for his entire 8-year NFL career – but only on one side of the ball. As a defensive back, he led his team in interceptions for three consecutive seasons. He also holds the Panthers' record for most career interceptions and most passes defended.
Zach Boren
Many wondered how Urban Meyer was going to utilize Zach Boren, a fullback, in his uptempo spread offense. Turns out, he really didn't.
Boren played three full seasons at fullback under Tressel and Fickell, starting 27 games and serving as a lead blocker for Boom Herron and Carlos Hyde. He began the 2012 season as a fullback in Tom Herman's offense, but midway through the season Boren made the move to middle linebacker, making his first appearance in Bloomington against the Indiana Hoosiers.
“I’ll do anything I can to help this team win,” he said of the switch. “And shoot, yeah, I was excited about getting the chance to play linebacker again.”
Linebacker was where Boren always wanted to play, but he chose Ohio State knowing that opportunity may never materialize. He knew his best chance to see the field early was at fullback, so that's where he played. Little did he know his tackling services would be desperately needed in a few short years.
Despite the fact that Meyer's offense hasn't included a true fullback since Boren's position switch, the move to linebacker was much more about necessity than scheme. Senior linebacker Etienne Sabino suffered a broken fibula leaving the Buckeyes lacking experience and depth at the linebacker position. Thankfully, Boren was happy to make the switch, and things went rather swimmingly.
Boren finished the season with 50 tackles, a (very memorable) sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, all in just six games. You could say he was a natural.
Tom Tupa
While not a two-way player in the traditional sense, Tom Tupa was a starter at two different positions during his Buckeye playing days. He was a four year starter at punter for Ohio State, but in 1987 Tupa was tabbed for a much different role – the team's starting quarterback.
Tupa saw limited action at the quarterback position before being named the starter during the 1987 season. He attempted a total of 37 passes over the 1985 and '86 seasons combined, while serving as the team's starting punter.
During his season as the starting quarterback, Tupa threw for 2,252 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That same season, he was named a consensus all-american punter.
Tupa had a lengthy NFL career, beginning as primarily as a quarterback from 1988-1992 and then as a punter until his retirement in 2005. During that span, he was named to the 1999 Pro Bowl and All-Pro rosters and won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003.
This certainly is not a complete list of players who played both sides of the ball at some point their Buckeye careers. The NCAA actually mandated a single-platoon system between 1954 and 1964 in a cost saving effort. Before than, countless Buckeyes played multiple ways including the legendary Chic Harley, who played quarterback, running back, defensive back, punter and place kicker.
Steve Bellisari began his career as a defensive back before becoming Ohio State's starting quarterback. Andy Katzenmoyer once "made a cameo" at fullback. Maurice Clarett even sought to be a two-way player.
"I want to play defense next year," said Clarett following Ohio State's 2002 National Championship game. "I'm too much of an athlete just to play on one side of the ball."
Clarett, of course, did not play for the Buckeyes at all the next year, much less on the defensive side of the ball.
Current Two-Way Players?
It's unlikely it will ever happen – in fact it's almost completely unrealistic – but there are a number of players on Ohio State's starting roster who would be ready to help out on the other side of the ball if their services were ever required.
Sam Hubbard
Sam Hubbard redshirted his first season at Ohio State, but athleticism was never the issue. He simply didn't have a position.
At Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Hubbard played both sides of the ball on the football team, dominating as both a safety and a tight end. But his physical gifts allowed him to dominate another sport, as well. Early on in his high school career, Hubbard was committed to powerhouse and 2014 NCAA runner-up Notre Dame to play lacrosse.
It wasn't his talent at tight end, safety or as a defensemen on the lacrosse team that got Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer's attention – it was his dodgeball prowess. On a visit to Moeller, Hubbard caught Meyer's eye during a P.E. volleyball game.
"He was an average football player, but great at dodgeball," joked Meyer.
Eventually, Hubbard landed at Ohio State to play football and Meyer continuously raved about him as just a true freshman, but he ended up taking a redshirt mostly because he couldn't seem to find a position. After moving from safety to tight end to linebacker, Hubbard finally finding a home with Larry Johnson on the defensive line.
Hubbard remains a quick and versatile athlete despite putting on weight, and would likely be able to contribute as a tight end if his number were called.
Billy Price
Billy Price entered Ohio State as a defensive lineman before making the switch to the interior offensive line during his first preseason camp. Since then, he's established himself as a starter and has become perhaps the strongest player on the team.
As the heaviest player on the team at 315 lbs., it's hard to imagine Price would be the gap-shooter Michael Bennett and Adolphus Washington were, but if his number were called something tells me he would be more than willing to fill some running lanes instead of open them for a change.
Jerome Baker
Though the sophomore linebacker currently sits behind Chris Worley on the depth chart and isn't technically a starter (yet), Jerome Baker may just be the most athletic player on the Ohio State roster.
He's already shown glimpses of what he can do, intercepting backup quarterback Joe Burrow during the spring game with a ridiculous one handed snag, but that may just be the surface.
As a linebacker coming out of high school, Baker's coach compared him to Pro Bowl Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison.
From cleveland.com
"The player that most single-handedly stuck out on a football field was Harrison, he was just the most impressive single player I ever saw on a football field," said Malbasa, who coached Baker for two years at Benedictine before going to NDCL and coaching against him in the North Coast League. "That was until I saw Jerome."
But the comparisons didn't stop there. Another coach compared his rushing ability to one of the best high school running backs ever – Maurice Clarett.
"But Baker's bigger, taller than [Clarett] is," O'Donnell said. "That's probably the only one I can throw out as a comparison. It's hard to compare."
Regardless of if these comparisons actually hold up, the point is made – Baker is a freak athlete who could certainly thrive on the other side of the ball if that's where he is needed.
