Who are Ohio State’s four greatest players of all-time at each position? We’re asking Eleven Warriors readers to help us decide.
In the final defensive installment of the series and our second-to-last group of Four Kings overall – we’ll wrap up the series with Ohio State’s greatest running backs next week – we’re taking a look at the Buckeyes’ best ever to play the safety position.
The first three choices for OSU’s “Mount Rushmore” at safety proved to be clear-cut with Mike Doss, Jack Tatum and Malik Hooker each easily earning a spot in the top three vote-getters. The battle for the fourth spot, however, was one of our closest battles of the entire series as Donte Whitner just narrowly edged out Vonn Bell to make the cut.
Below, we take a look at the illustrious careers of Doss, Tatum, Hooker and Whitner, then look at which other safeties warranted consideration from our readers and share our own picks of who made each of our own respective ballots at the position.
Mike Doss (1999-02)
Had Mike Doss entered the 2002 NFL draft after his second All-American season at Ohio State, he probably still would be one of the Four Kings of Ohio State safeties. His fourth and final season as a Buckeye cemented his standing as one of Ohio State’s greatest players ever.
Doss was a unanimous All-American, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a team captain in his senior season, when he led the 2002 Buckeyes to a national championship. An All-American in all three of his seasons as a starter for the Buckeyes, Doss is one of just eight three-time All-Americans in Ohio State history and the only Buckeye defensive back to earn that distinction.
Doss remains the all-time leader among Ohio State defensive backs in both total tackles (331) and solo tackles (228), including 33 tackles for loss. A second-round pick in the 2003 NFL draft, Doss was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022, becoming only the second Ohio State DB to earn that honor.
Jack Tatum (1968-70)
Four Kings
The first Ohio State defensive back inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Tatum remains famous more than 50 years after playing his final snap for the Buckeyes as one of the hardest hitters to ever play the game.
A versatile defensive weapon who lined up everywhere from cornerback to linebacker for the Buckeyes, demonstrating his ability to both cover receivers one-and-one and be a ferocious tackler in the box, Tatum earned All-Big Ten honors in all three of his seasons as a Buckeye and All-American honors in both of the latter two. A member of the “Super Sophomores,” Tatum helped lead the Buckeyes to two national championships in three years.
Nicknamed “The Assassin,” Tatum went on to star for the Oakland Raiders, winning a Super Bowl and making three Pro Bowls in a nine-year career with the team, who selected him with the 19th overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft.
Jack Tatum was an intimidating presence on Ohio State’s defense for three prolific seasons as a Buckeye. (Photo: Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Sports)
Malik Hooker (2014-16)
Hooker was a starter for only one season at Ohio State, but that one season was undeniably one of the greatest seasons an Ohio State defensive player has ever had.
The rangy free safety earned unanimous All-American honors in 2016 after he recorded 74 total tackles with seven interceptions, including three interception returns for touchdowns – more than any other Buckeye defender has ever had for an entire career. The third of those pick-sixes came against Michigan, a touchdown that would prove to be crucial in a game Ohio State ultimately won 30-27 in double overtime.
Selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Hooker is now in his seventh year in the league, recently signing a contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys following a career year in 2022 that included his first NFL defensive touchdown.
Donte Whitner (2003-05)
Like Hooker, Whitner only started one full season for the Buckeyes, but he made the most of that opportunity. Whitner earned first-team All-American honors in 2005, making a name for himself much like Tatum did with his hard-hitting style of play.
Over the course of his 34 games as a Buckeye, Whitner recorded 164 total tackles with five interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), two forced fumbles and nine pass breakups.
Whitner was the eighth overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft, making him Ohio State’s highest-drafted safety ever. He went on to play in the league for 11 years, making three Pro Bowls.
Honorable Mentions
| Safeties | Percentage of Ballots |
|---|---|
| MIKE DOSS | 95.2% (698 VOTES) |
| JACK TATUM | 90.6% (664 VOTES) |
| MALIK HOOKER | 57% (418 VOTES) |
| DONTE WHITNER | 37.1% (272 VOTES) |
| VONN BELL | 36.6% (268 VOTES) |
| MIKE SENSIBAUGH | 25.4% (186 VOTES) |
| DAMON MOORE | 18.6% (136 VOTES) |
| WILL ALLEN | 8.9% (65 VOTES) |
| TIM FOX | 8.2% (60 VOTES) |
| JORDAN FULLER | 8.2% (60 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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Vonn Bell missed the top four by a razor-thin margin, receiving only four fewer votes than Whitner. Bell had a strong case of his own to be one of the Four Kings at safety, as he earned first-team All-American honors in 2015 after starting for the 2014 national championship team and has gone on to a productive NFL career.
Mike Sensibaugh, who starred alongside Tatum from 1968-70 and holds Ohio State’s school records for single-season interceptions (nine) and career interceptions (22), received the sixth-most votes. Damon Moore, an All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection in the 1990s, also received triple-digit votes.
2003 All-American Will Allen finished eighth in the voting. 1975 All-American Tim Fox and Jordan Fuller, a two-time captain and one-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree who was a linchpin on the back end of Ohio State’s defense from 2017-19, tied with 60 votes apiece to round out the top 10.
Dan’s Picks
Jack Tatum, Mike Doss, Malik Hooker, Mike Sensibaugh
Tatum is the first name I associate with the safety position at Ohio State even though his Buckeye career ended more than 20 years before I was born, so I gave him my first vote. Doss’ three All-American selections made him an easy choice, too. Hooker’s 2016 season ranks right alongside Chase Young’s 2019 season for the best individual seasons by Ohio State defensive players since I’ve been following the Buckeyes closely, so I couldn’t leave him off.
I considered both Sensibaugh and Tim Fox for the final spot in my top four, but I gave the nod to Sensibaugh based on his 22 career interceptions – a school record that might never be broken, as he had five more interceptions in just three years than any other Buckeye has ever had in a career.
Matt’s Picks
Mike Doss, Jack Tatum, Tim Fox, Damon Moore
Mike Doss and Jack Tatum were no-brainers for me. Doss is the only safety to be named an All-American three times and he’s also the only safety to lead the team in tackles in consecutive seasons. He came back for his senior season to win a national championship, and he did. Tatum was a two-time All-American, a two-time national champ (if you count 1970) and a first-round NFL draft pick who made opposing receivers piss down their legs as they ran into The Assassin’s space.
The final two spots could have gone to seven different players: Kurt Coleman, Tim Fox, Ray Griffin, Malik Hooker, Damon Moore, Mike Sensibaugh and Donte Whitner. I decided on Fox and Moore. Fox is the only Ohio State safety to be a captain and first-round NFL draft pick while also earning All-American and All-Big Ten honors. Moore joins Doss and Tatum as the only safeties to be named first-team All-Big Ten multiple times, and Moore is the only safety other than Doss in program history to lead the team in tackles.
Photos of Mike Doss and Donte Whitner via Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
Photos of Jack Tatum via Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
