I made this topic because I was so displeased with the way the B1G network list panned out. I can't remember the exact order but I think the top 4 were beanie Wells at 4, Rashad Mendenhall at 3, Larry Johnson at 2 and Mike Hart at number 1.
Throwing my OSU bias aside, I still can't see taking this guy number one. The biggest reason is he is 0-4 against his primary rival. I know it is a team effort but come on. For anyone to say that based on the college experience alone Mike was better than Larry Johnson is flipping crazy! I don't think Mike is a bad college back but if he was on my team, much like I felt about Pryor, I'd tell him to shut his effing mouth already.
My list pans out like this:
1. Larry Johnson
2. Beanie Wells
3. Rashad Mendenhall
4. Lawrence Maroney
5. Jevon Ringer
Any thoughts on this list and on Mike Hart?
He's not number one but he would definitely be top 5, he was much better than ringer. Mo C as honorable mention for his amazing freshman season.
Should have been MoC and he probably should still be on the list...
mike hart can choke on his own vomit and die.... i might have taken ringer off and added marion barber
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
Mike Hart shouldn't illicit such hatred from OSU fans. He talked a lot and said nothing and never beat the team he hated the most. That aside, Mike Hart is easily one of the top 5 backs in the last ten years...he's the third all time leading rusher in B1G history behind the Great Dayne and Archie. I think Larry and Beanie are pretty interchangeable Irricoir. Good spot on LJ. I sort of forgot about him and he was a stud. I was never a big Mendenhall fan. Despite his size he always seemed a little soft to me. Good list otherwise. Ringer was suprisingly good too but not better than Hart in my humble opinion. Hard to look past his douchieness but if you can, you see a damned fine college football player.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
I guess you could squeeze Mendenhall to 6 and put Hart at 5. Mendenhall was kind of a one year wonder if I am not mistaken. Hart was consistent but If I had one year out of a healthy back it would be Beanie or Larry.
I don't always take names when I kick ass but when I do, they most often belong to a Wolverine.
I hate to say it, but Chris Perry should be on this list.
MoC and Antonio Pittman are both (IMO) ahead of Chris Wells. Mike Hart is probably above Javon Ringer, but LJ, Mendenhall, and Maroney are likely all above our OSU backs. Those guys were BEASTS in college.
mendenhall career: 388 carries, 2539 yards, 22TD's, 59 catches 564 yards, 5 TD
Antonio Pittman: 557 for 2945, 22TD, 37 for 314, 0TD
Ringer: 843 for 4398, 34TD, 96 for 719, 1 TD
Hart: 1015 for 5040, 41TD, 67 for 566, 2 TD
Johnson: 460 for 2952, 26TD, 65 for 681, 7 TD
Wells: 585 for 3382, 30TD, 15 for 84, 0TD
Tyrelle Sutton: 731 for 3886, 31TD, 149 for 1244, 6TD
Maroney: 660 for 3933, 32TD, 21 for 197, 1TD
Barber: 575 for 3276, 35TD, 21 for 190, 0TD
Don't knock ringer, the kid put up numbers. Statisically, Hart has a pretty good case for number one. Sutton has a case to be higher, as would Barber. This is just off the top of my head, I'm sure I'm skipping some good backs. Shonn Greene the bowling ball, but he had basically one good year.
Also fun to see how criminally underused our RB's were catching passes, compared with every one else except the Glen Mason zone blocking machine.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Perry: 794 for 3657, 39TD, 64 for 569 and 2TD. He should be on the list. Depending on how strict the "last decade" thing is, since his career started in 2000.
Edit: That last decade thing would have impacted LJ too, so I guess it's not that strict. LJ 99-02.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Shonn Greene and Evan Royster had pretty good college careers.
Greene, eh: 376 for 2228 and 22TD, 11 for 72 and 0TD. Meh
Royster, forgot him: 686 for 3932 and 29TD, 61 for 562 and 3TD. Solid.
I'm preempting someone telling me that statistics don't necessarily equate to "best" or "most talented", because we just had this discussion in the Beanie vs MoC thread. I understand that. It's just the best way of looking at their total body of work, and the only way we can compare things that are measureable. We can't go measure "the it factor" or "heart" or "toughness", so this is what we're stuck with.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
The Big Ten Network included those two in the top ten. I only talked about the top 4 because that is where Hart and Beanie placed.
I don't always take names when I kick ass but when I do, they most often belong to a Wolverine.
Yeah, clearly I didn't see the special. I was just throwing anyone out there I thought could be argued to be in the top 5. Did Sutton make the list at all? Always have a soft spot in my heart for him since he's a local boy.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
As much as I think Hart's "little brother" comment has backfired...he was a good RB. He should be on the list before Ringer IMHO. Yep all you troller tTUN fans who come here for some strange reason, I said another positive comment about tTUN in one day...probably a personal record for me.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
As OSUBIAS mentions, Tyrell Sutton was pretty good, too.
John Clay? 629 3,413 41TDs in a 3 year career that was cut a bit short.