ONE MAN'S TOP FIVE BUCKEYE FOOTBALLERS
We all have our favorites.
Whether it be music, friends, television shows, or in the realm of sports, we can't help but compare and contrast what we witness over the years and eventually stack up a list of favorites to celebrate and often times, defend.
When it comes to Ohio State football, there's no shortage of players especially if you're a bit older to choose from when determining your top five Buckeyes in history.
Muddying the lists from person to person is the criteria with which you choose, not to mention the subjectivity in which you apply it.
Though I consider myself to a pretty decent historian when it comes to what the football Buckeyes have done on the field, I limit my own top five list to players I was able to experience during my lifetime. That means I give myself a good year 10-year buffer post-birth to feel comfortable with not just why I favor that player, but to give myself a legit emotional connection to their accomplishments, and therefore standing, on my list.
Your own criteria for inclusion into your top five can certainly differ from mine – and I'm sure some of the players will – so after running through my list I encourage you to share your top five (and why) in the comments.
Without further adieu here's current my list, in order from first to fifth.
CHRIS SPIELMAN
If you were born at any point in the 1970's making you old enough to remember Chris Spielman's time at Ohio State, I struggle a little with how you can't have him at the top of your list, or at least in the top two.
Spielman was already a legend when he arrived at Ohio State thanks to stories of his playing tackle football on blacktop in the summer and an absolutely magical moustache perfect enough to adorn a Wheaties box.
As a freshman, he paced the sidelines like a wild man itching to get in the game and if not for a couple ankle injuries in his first season, Spielman easily would've been a four-year starter in Columbus.
You know the numbers on Spielman; the 29 solos against Michigan in 1986, the two All-American nods, the Lombardi Trophy. Those are all great reasons to put him atop my list but they are augmented by the
way he played the game.
Spielman was a throwback in every sense of the word just as his neckroll would suggest. His style, which easily made him my dad's favorite player of the Earle Bruce era made me love Spielman even more. If he was good enough for my dad to revere, then that was frankly good enough for me – Spielman's elite play was just icing on the cake.
See this guy's other 4 players:
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2016/06/71811/one-mans-top-five-buckeyes
