Smith in ring of honor?

[matcar]

So a guy like A.J. Hawk could never have number retired?

Seems kinda odd. I'm not saying that Hawk definitely deserves this, but I think someone like him merits discussion. And Pace...wow, he was just, hands down, the best ever.

Troy: so calm, so precise, such a will to win and make the others around him better. Yeah, he's deserving. Looking back, I cannot believe that I didn't think he was the QB of choice against TSUN back in 2004. Glad Tressel and company coach these fellas and not me. I'd be the Gerry Faust of tOSU...

 

[BB73]

Smith will have his name up there, that is almost a lock.

I think that Pace should have the same fate. How many lineman in their careers finish 4th in the heisman, win 2 Lombardi awards and an Outland trophy? Did I mention that he is the only the 2nd OSU lineman to ever start his first game as a true freshman? That resume is impressive enough for me.........

Well, John Hicks won the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award, and finished 2nd in the Heisman. Parker won the Outland, and there was no Rotary Lombardi back then, and finished 8th in the Heisman.

I think the current criteria (basically being a player in good standing and winning a national POY award) are the correct ones. If tOSU started retiring other numbers, adding great Buckeyes like Parker, Hicks, Pace, Tatum, Spielman, and Hawk (edit - 47's already retired - thanks lv) would soon result in a shortage of numbers.

The program is simply too damn good to allow standards that would be no problem at almost any other college football team.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Win or lose the national championship game, Troy's number is going up there. It should be up there just because of what he did on the field. But he also became a leader off the field, graduated, and became everything you want an Ohio State Buckeye to be when he leaves the university.

He is the greatest Buckeye in the history of The Game.
He is a Heisman Trophey winner (along with likely many other awards).
He is a Senior Captain.
He broke many OSU QB records and even without what happens on Jan 8, he at very least had the best season an Ohio State QB has ever had, if he isn't the best Ohio State QB ever.

I was born in 1982, and I think he's the best Buckeye in my lifetime...and we still get to see him play one more time!

Troy is definitely deserving of every award he gets and undoubtedly is the best Ohio State football player since 1982; however, Chic Harley is (and probably always will be) the greatest Buckeye in the history of the Ohio State football.


Archie may be a close second.

 

[lvbuckeye]

Seems kinda odd. I'm not saying that Hawk definitely deserves this, but I think someone like him merits discussion. And Pace...wow, he was just, hands down, the best ever.

Troy: so calm, so precise, such a will to win and make the others around him better. Yeah, he's deserving. Looking back, I cannot believe that I didn't think he was the QB of choice against TSUN back in 2004. Glad Tressel and company coach these fellas and not me. I'd be the Gerry Faust of tOSU...

FYI, Hawk's number is already retired.

 

[ScarletBlood31]

Smith's jersey retired in the 'Shoe? Absolutely.

 

[Airspace]

Smith will have his number retired at the appropriate time decided by Coach Tressel. I believe no one will wear the number until then. I remember after Archie won his heismann, it was several years before anyone wore the number again.

Personally, I know we have Buckeye Grove for all the All-Americans. I also know that there was talk to put a statue of Chic Harley in front of Ohio Stadium. There was talk even of renaming Ohio Stadium after Chic in the late 60's early 70's. It is often referred to as the House Chic built. I wish they would place life size statues of some of our great players around the outside of the stadium listing their honors and awards. Let's face it, some one like Jim Parker will never get his number retired but he deserves more than just a Buckeye tree in the Buckeye Grove. Fans could see what great players and coaches laid the ground work for what we have today.

I would also like to see a statue out front of Chic Harley and one of Woody Hayes out front. Those two are more responsible for what we have then any other Buckeye.

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

To be honest, the Buckeye Grove is in dire need of disrepair. The RPAC construction made it even worse. Sure, we have a great tribute to our greats at the WHAC, but it'd be nice to revitalize the Buckeye Grove or consider an alternative mode of dedication close to the stadium.

Also take note, Eddie's number was not taken out of circulation right away. Jerry Westbrooks wore it for 5 years.

 

[BuckBojangles]

Statue of Woody

They should have a statue of Woody, but it should be in a really non-descript place, like the path on his way to work or walking through the academic quad.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

How many of you remember the discussion we had long ago about this very topic? That discussion was very, very different.

We talked about the possibility of a future Heisman only as an abstract, what-if proposition. The question debated was actually if a player were caught taking money, like Troy was, would he then be considered ineligible for having his number retired. Many people had a hard time even applying the discussion to Troy because they couldn't imagine him winning a Heisman.

No, Troy's past is not a part of this discussion now; and I am not trying to make it a part of the discussion. Troy is past that now, and so are we.
That was two years ago, and I only bring up that old conversation to remind everyone how far Troy has come. He has grown more as a person, as a man, than anyone who has worn the Scarlet & Grey in my lifetime.

You never forget childhood heroes. So when I take my grandchildren to the Horseshoe and show them the #10 displayed there; I'll make sure that I mention Rex Kern. But the name beside the number will be Smith.

 

[Smooth Olaf]

If Troy leads the Bucks to an NC win over Southern Cal, you can bet the house that they'll retire his number when the Trojans come to the Shoe - regardless of any "five year rule".

The hell with that. USC will be a big game for sure, but I'd much rather have Ohio State retire his number before The Game.

 

[schwab]

I agree with a lot of this but I wouldn't look for his name up there for a few years. Nor should it be right away

Hopefully this hasn't been posted yet, BUT if it's not done until 5 years from now, do you actually risk giving the number to another freshman? To fix a special teams quandry with a RS Frosh would seem harmless, until you look back on Smith's career....I am going to frame a 10 jersey with my local screen printer "Smith"-ing it, and call it a retired number...

 

[coxew]

If/When Troy wins the Heisman, he will have his number retired. But another stipulation is the player can't have his number retired until 5 years after he leaves the school.

So assuming he does win it (We know he will, but I'm just saying), he won't have his number retired until atleast 2011, at the earliest.

Where is there anything about five years? They didn't even start retriing #'s until what, the late 90's. I don't think Eddie's had anything to do with time, rather the fact that he was the last Heisman winner and they had four others to do before him.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

Well, John Hicks won the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award, and finished 2nd in the Heisman. Parker won the Outland, and there was no Rotary Lombardi back then, and finished 8th in the Heisman.

I think the current criteria (basically being a player in good standing and winning a national POY award) are the correct ones. If tOSU started retiring other numbers, adding great Buckeyes like Parker, Hicks, Pace, Tatum, Spielman, and Hawk (edit - 47's already retired - thanks lv) would soon result in a shortage of numbers.

The program is simply too damn good to allow standards that would be no problem at almost any other college football team.

Touche' BB73.......

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Next April when Troy Smith is drafted, look at his new team's schedule. Mark your calendar for the first time a bye week for his new team coincides with a home game for Ohio State. Whether it's during his rookie season or during his second or third year, that's when it will happen.

 

[IronBuckI]

I would love to see Troy's number in the ring of honor. I don't think that there needs to be a rush on it though. He can wait five years, and then we can all look back and remember how great he was. The instant gratification society isn't all it's cracked up to be.


As for Pace not being in. He was a great player, and I loved watching him. But, are there any guys up there that left school early? Does he even have a degree from tOSU?