Who's the Greatest Buckeye Tailback? (Please vote for THREE)

[OregonBuckeye]

I can't even believe that we're having a debate about MoC being listed among the greatest Ohio State running backs.

1) He played for 1 season
2) He was injured for a good part of it
3) He was a scumbag who tried to drag this university down with him

If we want to have a poll about the most tragic, waste of talent that ever put on a Buckeye uniform, by all means include him.

Personally, I think it's an insult to everybody from Chic Harley to Hop Cassady to Matt Snell to Archie to Eddie to Beanie Wells, including every 4th string walk-on practice player throughout the years that he's even being debated as one of Ohio State's greatest.

That's nice and that's your opinion. We're all allowed to have one too.

 

[Yertle]

I'm kind of surprised Pete Johnson isn't on this list. Or is he on a future fullback list? The dude was a touchdown machine.

 

[Best Buckeye]

I'm kind of surprised Pete Johnson isn't on this list. Or is he on a future fullback list? The dude was a touchdown machine.

The schedule is on the first post .

 

[Yertle]

slow down there, tough guy. i have a #27 jersey in my collection, but there ain't a #13 in there.

Oh, let's make sure something is very clear, I'm really not all that tough.... or fast.

 

[jwinslow]

I believe MoC may have become the greatest, but I'll give the nod to archie on actual production.

I'm kind of surprised Pete Johnson isn't on this list. Or is he on a future fullback list? The dude was a touchdown machine.

Well considering he's THE list, there's probably no use in starting one

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

That's nice and that's your opinion. We're all allowed to have one too.

Then change the criteria of the poll from "greatest" to "most talented," but in no sense of the word is Clarett eligible for a "greatest" in anything other than embarrassment.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I believe MoC may have become the greatest, but I'll give the nod to archie on actual production.Well considering he's THE list, there's probably no use in starting one

While I'd put Pete Johnson at the top, Champ Henson and Vaughn Broadnax definitely come to mind as worthy adversaries.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

LV - I don't have the stats, but as memory serves Illinois was one of the better Ds in the land in 1995.... Simeon Rice was with them.... James Hardy? I remember they had at least 2 "great" LBs.... What George did to them was a shock... not so much that it was Eddie - he was already in the Heisman discussion by then.... but because Illinois was pretty stout.

 

[Saw31]

WSU finished in the top 5 in rush defense in '02... i forget how good Illinois was on D in '95...

Don't know the relative rankings, and I'm not sure how much that would matter, but...

best I could find to illustrate how good that D was...

KEVIN HARDY won the 1995 Butkus Award, following Dana Howard's win in 1994. It is the only time teammates have won the award in successive years. Hardy was named a consensus All-American and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors his junior and senior seasons. Hardy was chosen with the second overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and was followed by teammate Simeon Rice at No. 3 overall. Hardy spent nine years in the NFL.

SIMEON RICE was a two-time All-American, earning first-team recognition in 1994 and 1995. He holds the Big Ten career record for sacks with 44.5, and also holds the Illinois career tackles for loss record with 69. Rice was drafted third overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 1996, one pick behind Illini teammate Kevin Hardy. He currently plays for Tampa Bay, where he won a Super Bowl in 2002. Rice was the Football News Player of the Year in 1995 and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in both 1994 and 1995.

I'd take that Illinois rush D over WSU's...

 

[ScriptOhio]

I'm kind of surprised Pete Johnson isn't on this list. Or is he on a future fullback list? The dude was a touchdown machine.

Pete is undoubtedly Ohio State's #1 fullback of all time.

If you saw him at the game Saturday, he is now "a little over his playing weight". He may have switched to being a "hamburger eating machine ".

COLUMBUS - Pete Johnson, Ohio State's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns, and eight other former Buckeyes have been added to Ohio State's Athletics Hall of Fame, with the official induction scheduled for Sept. 7.
AP filePete Johnson scores a touchdown for the Buckeyes during their 1974 Rose Bowl win over Southern California.

"I'd just ask Coach Tressel to run the fullback five times that day," Johnson, a 245-pound fullback in his playing days, said of the Sept. 8 game against Akron, when the inductees will be introduced at halftime.

Entire article: Pete Johnson headlines Ohio State Hall of Fame class

 

[Best Buckeye]

LV - I don't have the stats, but as memory serves Illinois was one of the better Ds in the land in 1995.... Simeon Rice was with them.... James Hardy? I remember they had at least 2 "great" LBs.... What George did to them was a shock... not so much that it was Eddie - he was already in the Heisman discussion by then.... but because Illinois was pretty stout.

there was a 3rd guy too, very highly rated. I think Rice played anywhere he wanted to , DE LB wherever. These guys tore up the conference for years. Eddie just ate them up . It is one of my favorite games to watch and watch and watch.....

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Full backs... Jim Otis.... Nickey Sualua... not for running, but a great blocker.


I was close with "James" Hardy.... Kevin Hardy it is.

 

[jwinslow]

Some tidbits
here we go

“We gave them a good old-fashioned butt-whippin’,” said Coach John Cooper describing the Illinois game. The Buckeyes averaged 7-yards per snap and didn’t have to punt all day, a feat Cooper could not recall ever seeing before. The loud-mouthed Illini defense ranked 10th in the nation against the run coming into the game.

All-America linebackers Simeon Rice and Kevin, the two surefire first-round draft picks, collected a COMBINED total of six tackles and one assist. Rice saw enough of Orlando Pace Saturday to last a lifetime. On his TV show Sunday Coop highlighted and diagrammed a play in which tight end Rickey Dudley blocked Hardy backwards 15-yards, almost out of bounds. Fullback Nicky Sualua, center Juan Porter, guards Jamie Sumner and LaShun Daniels and right tackle Eric Gohlstin all did a great job blocking.​

Punter Brent Bartholomew played a perfect game. If my algebra is correct, Brent’s zero kicks divided by zero total yardage gives him an average of infinity-yards per kick on Saturday.

Speaking of injuries, recall when Illinois running back Steve Havard was KO’d by nose guard Luke Fickell and cornerback Ty Howard on the last play of the third quarter

-Illinois was the 1,000th OSU game.

 

[ScriptOhio]

there was a 3rd guy too, very highly rated. I think Rice played anywhere he wanted to , DE LB wherever. These guys tore up the conference for years. Eddie just ate them up . It is one of my favorite games to watch and watch and watch.....

There were two others:

DANA HOWARD **** was Illinois' first winner of the Butkus Award. Howard was a consensus All-America selection in 1994, setting the Big Ten record for career tackles with 595. He was named a first-team All-American in 1993, and was an honorable mention All-America selection in 1992. Howard, along with teammates John Holocek, Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice, gave Illinois the nickname "Linebacker U" in the mid-1990s. He was named to the All-Big Ten second team as a freshman, then was a first-team selection his next three years. Howard was taken in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL draft.

JOHN HOLECEK **** was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 1993 and a second-team honoree in 1994. Part of Illinois' foursome that gave the school the "Linebacker U" moniker in the mid-1990s, Holocek had an eight-year NFL career after being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 1995 draft. Holocek is fifth on the Illinois career tackles list with 436 and was twice named honorable mention All-America.

 

[lvbuckeye]

whoohoo! i was right, well about Wazzoo's defensive ranking anyway..

the '95 Illinois game signaled the end of a stretch of dominance for the Illini against us. we came into that game as losers of six out of seven to Illinois, so probably from an historic and conference standpoint, they were a bigger challenge... i was at the Iowa game two weeks before that when we jumped out to a 56-0 lead... with ten minutes to go... in the second quarter.