Four Kings: Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Ezekiel Elliott and Hopalong Cassady Selected As Ohio State’s Greatest Running Backs

We saved the best position for last. In the final installment of our 11-part series, we highlight Ohio State’s Four Kings at running back – a position that has spawned five Heisman Trophy winners along with a multitude of other Buckeye stars dating back more than a hundred years.

Among the many legitimate choices to make Ohio State’s “Mount Rushmore” of running backs – which was open both to those who played the modern halfback/tailback position and those who played fullback in eras where that position was more prominent – the four ballcarriers who our voters identified as the Buckeyes’ best of all-time were two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin, fellow Heisman recipients Eddie George and Howard “Hopalong” Cassady and the star of Ohio State’s most recent national championship run, Ezekiel Elliott.

We wrap up the Four Kings series by taking a closer look at what each of them accomplished as Buckeyes and beyond to become Ohio State’s greatest of all-time at a star-studded position, then also look at some of the many other OSU running backs who missed the cut but warranted consideration. As always, Dan and Matt conclude the article by sharing which players made their own ballots, which didn’t differ much from the consensus choices this time around.

Archie Griffin (1972-75)

Griffin isn’t only the greatest running back in Ohio State history, he’s the most decorated individual player in college football history.

By rushing for 1,695 yards in 1974 and 1,450 yards in 1975, Griffin became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy twice. Forty-seven seasons later, Griffin is still the only player ever win the Heisman Trophy twice.

Griffin held the NCAA record for all-time rushing yards at the end of his Ohio State career, rushing for 5,589 yards – 1,130 yards more than any other Buckeye ever has rushed for – over the course of his four years as a Buckeye. He’s also Ohio State’s career leader in rushing yards per game (121.5) with a whopping 34 career 100-yard rushing games, 12 more than any other Buckeye all-time. Griffin still holds the NCAA record for most consecutive 100-yard games with 31 in a row from 1973-75.

Also one of just eight Ohio State players to be a three-time first-team All-American, Griffin remains the gold standard for Buckeye greatness more than four-and-a-half decades after his last carry (not including his touchdown in this year’s spring game) in scarlet and gray.

Eddie George (1992-95)

George became an Ohio State icon in 1995 when he rushed for 100 yards or more in 12 consecutive games, finishing the year with a then-school-record 1,927 yards and 24 touchdowns and becoming the fifth Buckeye to win the Heisman Trophy in the process.

A backup for his first two seasons as a Buckeye, George ran for 3,369 yards and 36 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Ohio State, finishing his career as the second-leading rusher behind only Griffin (now fourth, also behind J.K. Dobbins and Ezekiel Elliott) in school history. His 44 career touchdowns rank third in Ohio State history behind only Pete Johnson and Keith Byars. His 47 career receptions were also a record for an Ohio State running back at the end of his career.

Selected by the Houston Oilers with the No. 14 overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft, George went on to rush for 10,441 yards and 68 touchdowns in just nine NFL seasons. The only player to have his number retired by both Ohio State and an NFL team (Tennessee Titans), George was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and was a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Ezekiel Elliott (2013-15)

Elliott became an Ohio State legend in 2014 with the greatest individual three-game stretch in program history. “Zeke” carried the Buckeyes to a national title by running for 220 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin, 230 yards and two touchdowns in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Alabama and 246 yards and four touchdowns in the CFP championship game against Oregon.

He followed up his 1,878-yard, 18-touchdown 2014 season by rushing for 1,821 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2015, becoming the only player in school history to rush for 1,800 yards in multiple seasons. He became the only Ohio State football player ever to win the Sullivan Award as America’s top amateur athlete after the 2014 season, and he won the Silver Football as the Big Ten’s most valuable player in 2015.

Elliott ranks third in Ohio State history with 3,961 career rushing yards and is tied for third among all Buckeyes with 43 career rushing touchdowns despite playing only three collegiate seasons and only seeing occasional action as a freshman. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, leading the league in rushing in two of his first three NFL seasons, and is now entering his eighth year in the league after recently signing with the New England Patriots.

Howard “Hopalong” Cassady (1952-55)

The only Ohio State running back to be drafted higher than Elliott, Cassady was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1956 NFL draft after an illustrious Buckeye career in which he became the first Ohio State player ever to earn unanimous All-American honors twice and became OSU’s third winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Cassady led Ohio State to a 10-0 record and a national championship in 1954, earning unanimous All-American honors for the first time and finishing third in the Heisman vote. Cassady followed that up by rushing for 958 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1955 – both school records at the time – to become the first player to ever receive 2,000 points in Heisman voting. He was also the 1955 AP Male Athlete of the Year, making him the only Ohio State football player to win that award.

A Columbus native, Cassady scored 37 touchdowns in 36 career games and finished his career with 2,466 rushing yards, both Ohio State records at the time. Also a starting shortstop for the Ohio State baseball team, Cassady was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Honorable Mentions

Ohio State’s history of great running backs is so illustrious that a pair of Heisman Trophy winners barely made the top 10.

Les Horvath became Ohio State’s first Heisman winner in 1944 while Vic Janowicz became the second in 1950, yet they finished just ninth and 10th in our balloting. One could certainly argue that they deserved more votes as Heisman winners, but the running backs ranked ahead of them are Buckeye legends in their own right.

Chic Harley, Ohio State’s first-ever three-time All-American and the first true Ohio State football superstar, finished fifth in the voting. Keith Byars, who finished second in the Heisman race with a 1,764-yard, 22-touchdown season in 1984, finished sixth.

J.K. Dobbins, who became the only 2,000-yard rusher in Ohio State history when he rushed for 2,003 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2019, received the seventh-most votes. Maurice Clarett, who ran for 1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns in his lone season at Ohio State to lead the 2002 Buckeyes to a national title, finished eighth.

Running backs who finished outside the top 10 in voting included two-time team MVP Chris “Beanie” Wells, all-time Ohio State touchdown leader Pete Johnson, Buckeye and NFL standout Robert Smith, Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Warfield (who played wide receiver in the NFL but running back at Ohio State) and College Football Hall of Famer Gaylord Stinchcomb, among others.

Dan’s Picks

Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Hopalong Cassady, Ezekiel Elliott

Even though running back and wide receiver were the two most difficult positions to narrow down to only four Buckeye greats, they ended up being the two positions that I agreed with all four of our readers’ selections.

Archie, Eddie, Hopalong and Zeke are all still referred to on a first-name-only basis in Columbus for good reason. The first three, in particular, were transcendent superstars at the heights of their careers. Leaving two other Heisman winners and a program-changing player in Chic Harley off the list wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t exclude Elliott from my top four after watching his legendary run through the 2014 postseason.

Matt’s Picks

Archie Griffin, Chic Harley, Eddie George, Hopalong Cassady

With so many different ways to come up with Ohio State’s four best running backs, my list could have easily included any combination of Dobbins, Elliott, Beanie, Carlos Hyde, Clarett, Byars, Tim Spencer, Pete Johnson, Warfield, Janowicz or Horvath. However, the four running backs to make my list are based on accomplishments and historical impact on the Ohio State football program. I went with three kids from Columbus and a physical freak from Philadelphia.

Chic Harley is the reason Ohio State football is the phenomenon it is today. Without the stellar star from East High School, Ohio State football could have followed the same path as Indiana or Illinois. Cassady, another Columbus kid, came at the perfect time during Woody Hayes’ career. Griffin is the only two-time Heisman winner and has been the perfect ambassador for the city, school and game since his retirement from the NFL. George is the program’s last running back to win the Heisman and helped propel the Buckeyes into the national juggernaut they are today.

A special thanks to the Eleven Warriors community for taking the time to vote each week during this series. The discussions in the comments of these articles and the forum pieces reinforce what makes 11W the best.

Photos of Archie Griffin and Eddie George via USA TODAY Sports (Malcolm and Matthew Emmons)
Photo of Hopalong Cassady via Ohio State Dept. of Athletics