Who are Ohio State’s four greatest players of all-time at each position? We’re asking Eleven Warriors readers to help us decide.
The eighth of 11 installments in our Four Kings series highlights Ohio State’s best-ever cornerbacks, with a quartet of cornerbacks from the 1990s and 2000s rising to the top as the Buckeyes’ greatest players at the position.
Nineties standouts Antoine Winfield and Shawn Springs led the voting from Eleven Warriors readers this week while 2000s greats Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Gamble earned the final two spots on our “Mount Rushmore” of Ohio State cornerbacks.
What makes them the choices for Ohio State’s four greatest cornerbacks of all-time, who else garnered serious consideration and who did our staff writers put on their own individual ballots? We dive into all of that below.
Antoine Winfield (1995-98)
Named an All-American in both of his two seasons as a starting cornerback at Ohio State, Winfield was the first pure cornerback in program history to earn first-team All-American honors twice (not including Jack Tatum, who played both defensive back and linebacker for the Buckeyes and will be eligible for the safeties edition of Four Kings).
Winfield also became Ohio State’s first-ever winner of the Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s best defensive back in 1998. He also became the first defensive back ever to win Ohio State’s team MVP award that same season, when he led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship as a team captain.
The only Ohio State cornerback since 1970 to record 100 total tackles in a season, Winfield is tied for fourth in school history with 29 career pass breakups. Selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 23rd pick in the 1999 NFL draft, Winfield went on to play in the NFL for 14 seasons, earning three Pro Bowl berths with the Minnesota Vikings.
Shawn Springs (1993-96)
Four Kings
Before Winfield became the best cornerback in college football while wearing scarlet and gray, Springs made a strong case of his own for that title in 1996, when he earned consensus All-American honors and was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after recording 15 pass breakups, which was a school record at the time.
Springs was so good in his final season as a Buckeye that he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1997 NFL draft, setting the record (since tied by fellow Buckeye cornerback Jeff Okudah and former LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.) for the highest-drafted cornerback ever. He went on to play in the NFL for 13 seasons, making one Pro Bowl.
A three-year starting cornerback at Ohio State, Springs also earned All-Big Ten honors as a redshirt sophomore in 1995. He ranks sixth in Ohio State history with 25 career pass breakups.
Malcolm Jenkins (2005-08)
Jenkins duplicated the feats of Winfield in 2007 and 2008, becoming Ohio State’s second cornerback ever to earn first-team All-American honors twice and the second Buckeye ever to win the Jim Thorpe Award.
A three-year starter at cornerback from 2006-08, Jenkins earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in all three of his seasons as a starter and helped lead the Buckeyes to two national championship game appearances and a trio of Big Ten titles.
Jenkins finished his Ohio State career with 196 total tackles, 17 pass breakups and 11 interceptions with two interception returns for touchdowns. Selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 14th pick in the 2009 NFL draft, Jenkins went on to play in the NFL for 13 seasons, making three Pro Bowls as a safety.
Chris Gamble (2001-03)
The best two-way player in the two-platoon era of Ohio State football, Gamble was a playmaker at both wide receiver and cornerback (and punt returner) for the Buckeyes but was at his best on the defensive side of the ball, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors in both of his seasons as a starting cornerback for the Buckeyes.
He shared team MVP honors with Craig Krenzel in 2002, when his contributions on both defense and offense helped lead Ohio State to a national championship. Over the course of his three years as a Buckeye, Gamble recorded seven interceptions and 18 pass breakups while he also caught 60 passes for 467 yards.
The No. 28 overall pick in the 2004 draft, Gamble played nine seasons in the NFL as a cornerback for the Carolina Panthers, setting the franchise’s career interceptions record with 27.
Honorable Mentions
| Cornerbacks | Percentage of Ballots |
|---|---|
| ANTOINE WINFIELD | 85.6% (480 VOTES) |
| SHAWN SPINGS | 77.8% (436 VOTES) |
| MALCOLM JENKINS | 63.3% (355 VOTES) |
| CHRIS GAMBLE | 49.4% (277 VOTES) |
| MARSHON LATTIMORE | 31.2% (175 VOTES) |
| JEFF OKUDAH | 30.3% (170 VOTES) |
| DENZEL WARD | 29.1% (163 VOTES) |
| NEAL COLZIE | 10.9% (61 VOTES) |
| BRADLEY ROBY | 6.4% (36 VOTES) |
| NATE CLEMENTS | 3.2% (18 VOTES) |
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Note: All percentages were multiplied by four from their vote totals since each voter was able to vote for up to four players. |
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Three of Ohio State’s most recent stars in the secondary were the first three cornerbacks to miss the cut: 2016 All-Big Ten honoree Marshon Lattimore, 2019 unanimous All-American Jeff Okudah and 2017 All-American Denzel Ward, all of whom went on to be top-11 NFL draft picks and are playing in the league today.
1974 All-American and two-time first-team All-Big Ten cornerback Neal Colzie, who also holds Ohio State records for the most punt return yards in a season and the most career punt return yards per attempt, finished eighth in the voting. Fellow All-American and two-time All-Big Ten honoree Bradley Roby, who holds Ohio State’s school record for most career pass breakups (36), finished ninth in the balloting.
2000 All-Big Ten cornerback Nate Clements, who went on to a successful 11-year NFL career after he was selected with the 21st pick in the 2001 draft, rounded out the top 10 in the voting.
Dan’s Picks
Antoine Winfield, Malcolm Jenkins, Shawn Springs and Neal Colzie
As Jim Thorpe Award winners and two-time All-Americans, Winfield and Jenkins were easy choices as Ohio State’s most decorated cornerbacks ever. Springs wasn’t a hard choice either, as a very real case can be made for him being Ohio State’s most dominant cover corner ever.
The fourth pick was much tougher; I gave serious consideration to both Okudah and Ward, who were similarly dominant during their All-American seasons and also became top-four NFL draft picks. But because they were both only one-year starters, I decided to give my final vote to Colzie, whose ability as both a cornerback and punt returner made him a star playmaker in Columbus for three years.
Matt’s Picks
Antoine Winfield, Shawn Springs, Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Gamble
For the first time in this series, my picks align perfectly with the final vote. Here's to our four picks at cornerback not needing to be revisited.
I loved watching Winfield shut down the opposing team's best receiver, then come off the edge and lower the boom on a running back or unsuspecting quarterback. Sans one slip, Springs set the bar for the modern cornerback. Even at the college level, Jenkins was a consummate professional who was a hard-hitting ballhawk.
Gamble was a difference-maker on three sides of the ball during his senior season. Clarett and the front seven of the defense get their due, but some people forget about Gamble's heroics. Without him, Ohio State doesn't win the national title. Hell, the Buckeyes might not have defeated Penn State.
Photos of Antoine Winfield, Shawn Springs and Chris Gamble via Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
Photo of Malcolm Jenkins via Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
