A.J. Hawk and Mike Nugent were announced as members of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2019 last week.
It signaled a continuation of the university acknowledging standout football players from the dominant teams coached by Jim Tressel in the early Aughts. In 2018, linebacker James Laurinaitis was honored, and a year before, it was LeCharles Bentley.
As the years march on, more of Tressel's standouts will get their names etched in university lore forever. Then time will give way to the All-Americans and heroes of Urban Meyer's best teams.
Looking ahead, Meyer produced a number of dominant players during his seven year run that make solid candidates for the Ohio State Hall of Fame. These are the shoo-ins.
Joey Bosa
Joey Bosa wasted no time making an impact for the Buckeyes, earning freshman All-American honors in 2013 before erupting in 2014 as a consensus All-American.
During that '14 season, Bosa anchored an overhauled defense that had been consistently gashed the prior season. He finished that year with 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss while helping Ohio State run to and through the first-ever College Football Playoff.
Bosa left Ohio State after his junior season after tallying 26 total sacks and 51 tackles for loss.
Ezekiel Elliott
It's hard to argue an Ohio State running back had a more productive stretch between two season than Ezekiel Elliott, and that includes college football's only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, Elliott ran wild and piled up 4,125 yards of total offense to complement 41 rushing touchdowns. He was never better than he was during Ohio State's 2014 postseason run, when he broke the backs of Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon by averaging 232 rushing yards a game.
J.T. Barrett
The three-time captain quarterback who started for Ohio State during most of his final four years on campus, J.T. Barrett embodied the ideal blend of leadership and production.
He rewrote Ohio State's record book and broke several conference records as well, winning 38 games for the Buckeyes from 2014-17. He owns the Big Ten record for career touchdowns thrown and responsible for, in addition to total offensive yards.
The Others
There are numerous candidates who did plenty to earn their way into Ohio State's Hall of Fame. Offensive tackle Taylor Decker joined Bosa as a consensus All-American in 2015. Billy Price was another dominant linemen who garnered All-American honors.
Wideout Michael Thomas is one of the most notable Buckeyes in the NFL today, but he could be considered a fringe candidate thanks to his underutilization in Columbus. Despite shredding the league during his first three season, he totaled just 1,602 receiving yards as a Buckeye, good for 21st in program history.
