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Football
25 Years of Buckeye Icons
Installment four - 20 through 11
By Tony Gerdeman

[Editor's Note: This is part four of a five-part series in which Tony Gerdeman will count down the top-50 Buckeye football Icons of the last 25 years.]

Installment three - 30 -21

Maurice Clarett
Photo by Jim Davidson

(20) Maurice Clarett, RB (All-Big Ten 2002)

During and after his freshman year, I believed he was a better running back than Eddie George. I'm still not sure he wasn't. He was rarely tackled in the backfield and always provided excitement. Sometimes a little too much, I guess. He made the first man miss as well as any running back I've ever seen. Should have scored six touchdowns in his collegiate debut, but Jim Tressel wisely only let him have three. That was the last football game my wife has gone to with me and she has no idea what she got to witness. There have been few backs who were more exciting or instinctive than Clarett.

(19) Mike Vrabel, DE (All-American 1995, 1996)

Santonio Holmes
Photo by Jim Davidson

He was in the backfield for the final three years of his career. The Terry Glenn to Jason Simmons' Joey Galloway. (I'm guessing that's the only time he's been compared to Terry Glenn.) I'm assuming the defensive huddles were basically Vrabel and Matt Finkes saying, “Meet you at the quarterback...ready...BREAK!”.

(18) Santonio Holmes, WR (All-Big Ten 2005)

A combination of Terry Glenn and Joey Galloway. He had the explosive capabilities of Glenn and the safety-shrugging strength of Galloway. One of the most productive players from beginning to end in the Jim Tressel Era. The moment he stepped into the lineup midway through his redshirt freshman season in 2003, he matched senior Michael Jenkins catch for catch and score for score. I can't even let myself think what the 2006 offense would have looked like had he returned for his senior season.

Tedd Ginn Jr.
Photo by Jim Davidson

(17) Ted Ginn Jr., WR/PR/KR (All-American 2006)

More than anybody else, the one player I loved to see run with space. I'm not sure if he was the fastest Buckeye ever, but he sure made defenders look slower than anybody else could. There's a certain bit of satisfaction in watching a player who is being chased by defenders with angles, and being confident enough to say, “Gone”, and be right. He made people right more than any other. If I sat down right now and watched a Ted Ginn highlight film, however, he'd be in my top ten. I still remember his first touchdown on a tipped pass against Indiana where he (per usual) embarrassed the defenders chasing him and thinking, “He's real! He's real!” I had seen him do similar things in high school, but to finally see it in college was another thing altogether. And his three-touchdown outing against Michigan State as a freshman in a comeback win nearly wore out my first DVR. His catch and run against Oklahoma State where he made nearly every defender miss at least once (and some twice) is still one of my favorites. Can't believe he isn't higher on this list, but I don't know who else to move down.

James Laurinaitis
Photo by Jim Davidison

(16) James Laurinaitis, MLB (All-American 2006, 2007, 2008; Bronco Nagurski Award 2006; Butkus Award 2007)

One of the best representatives a university could ever ask for. And always in the right place at the right time. He is the only Buckeye linebacker to be a three-time All-American, which probably means he should be higher on this list. It wasn't a coincidence that big plays seemed to find him.

(15) Chris Wells, RB (All-Big Ten 2007)

Beanie Wells
Photo by Dan Harker

As powerful as Eddie George, but faster. If he could have stayed healthy, he may have been in my top three. I remember yelling and jumping after his spinning touchdown run against Michigan in 2006 and declaring it the greatest Buckeye run I had ever seen. I don't really know if it was or not, but it sure seemed like it at the time. If Troy Smith was the ultimate Wolverine killer, then Beanie Wells was ultimate Wolverine torturer—leaving them alive just enough so they could experience the pain that he was inflicting. The waterboarding of running backs.

(14) Shawn Springs, CB (All-American 1996)

The Natural. Just watching him on the football field, you got the feeling he could excel at anything he tried. As smooth a Buckeye as I ever saw on either side of the ball. Quarterbacks didn't even look to his side of the field, and wisely so. Arguably the best Ohio State cornerback of all-time (and there's plenty to argue about).

Malcolm Jenkins
Photo by Jim Davidson

(13) Malcolm Jenkins, CB (All-American 2007, 2008; Thorpe Award Winner 2008)

The most complete cornerback that Ohio State has produced since I've been watching them. Equally adept at helping on the run, or jumping a route and returning a pick six. One of the hardest workers away from the field you'll ever see.

(12) Mike Doss, SS (All-American 2000, 2001, 2002)

The consummate leader. Even after seeing him make mistakes on the football field, I was still convinced he wasn't capable of making mistakes. One of the hardest hitters the Ohio State secondary has ever produced. A three-time All-American in the secondary, yet somehow never came home with the Thorpe Award. For those of us who never got to watch Jack Tatum, getting four years of Mike Doss was a very nice substitute. Though I'm guessing Kurt Kittner found nothing nice about it.

A. J. Hawk
Photo by Jim Davidson

(11) A.J. Hawk, LB (All-American 2004, 2005; Lombardi Award 2005)

He is what a linebacker at Ohio State should be. Always in the right place at the right time, and I'm still trying to think of a missed tackle. Not bad for a guy most had pegged as a fullback when he committed to Ohio State. Plus, it was great to hear Brent Musburger say his name.

Installment three - 30 -21

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