Buckeye Phi inquired about the most returning starters a championship team has ever had. That is a big undertaking and I was unable to find the depth charts for all of the teams to win a championship.
I was able to get the depth charts for the following teams:
- Ohio State (1968 / 1969)
- Miami (2001 / 2002)
- Ohio State (2002 / 2003)
- USC (2004 / 2005)
- Alabama (2011 / 2012)
- Ohio State (2014 / 2015)
| Team | RETURNING ON OFFENSE | RETURNING ON DEFENSE | TOTAL RETURNING |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State 1969 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Ohio State 2015* | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| Ohio State 2003 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| USC 2005 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Miami 2002 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Alabama 2012 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
*Projected Starters
PLAYERS IN BOLD ARE NEW STARTERS
| 1968 | Off. Pos. | 1969 | 1968 | Der. Pos. | 1969 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan White | LE | Jan White | David Whitfield | LE | David Whitfield | |
| Dave Foley | LT | Dave Cheney | Paul Schmidlin | LT | Paul Schimdlin | |
| Tom Backhus | LG | Tom Backhus | Jim Stlilwagon | MG | Jim Stillwagon | |
| Jim Muhbach | C | Brian Donovan | Brad Nielson | RT | Bill Urban | |
| Rufus Mayes | RT | Charles Hutchison | Jack Tatum | CB | Jack Tatum | |
| Bruce Jankowski | RE | Bruce Jankowski | Doug Adams | LB | Doug Adams | |
| Rex Kern | QB | Rex Kern | Mark Stier | LB | Phil Stickland | |
| John Brockington | LH | Leo Hayden | Ted Provost | LH | Harry Howard | |
| Larry Zelina | RH | Larry Zelina | Tim Anderson | RH | Tim Anderson | |
| Jim Otis | FB | Jim Otis | Mike Sensibaugh | S | Mike Sesibaugh | |
| 1969 Offensive Returning Starters | 7 | |||||
| 1969 Defensive Returning Starters | 8 | |||||
| 1969 Total Returning Starters | 15 |
1968 10-0
1969 8-1 Lost to That Team at the end of the regular season
2014 Ohio State Buckeyes
| 2014 | Off. Pos. | 2015 | 2014 | Def. Pos. | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Heuerman | TE | Nick Vannett | Joey Bosa | DE | Joey Bosa | |
| Taylor Decker | LT | Taylor Decker | Adolphus Washington | DT | Adolphus Washington | |
| Billy Price | LG | Billy Price | Michael Bennett | DT | Tommy Schutt | |
| Jacoby Boren | C | Jacoby Boren | Steve Miller | VIPER | Tyquan Lewis | |
| Darrly Baldwin | RT | Chase Farris | Curtis Grant | MLB | Raekwon McMillan | |
| Michael Thomas | SE | Michael Thomas | Joshua Perry | SLB | Joshua Perry | |
| J.T. Barrett | QB | Your Choice | Eli Apple | CB | Eli Apple | |
| Ezekiel Elliott | TB | Ezekiel Elliott | Doran Grant | CB | Gareon Conley | |
| Jalin Marshall | H | Jalin Marshall | Tyvis Powell | S | Tyvis Powell | |
| Evan Spencer | WR | Corey Smith | Vonn Bell | S | Vonn Bell | |
| 2015 Returning Offensive Starters | 8 | |||||
| 2015 Returning Defensive Starters | 7 | |||||
| 2015 Total Returning Starters | 15 |
*Projected Starters
2014 14-1
2015 -----
2002 Ohio State Buckeyes
| 2002 | Off. Pos. | 2003 | 2002 | Def. Pos. | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hartsock | TE | Ben Hartsock | Darrion Scott | DE | Simon Fraser | |
| Ivan Douglas | LT | Rob Sims | Kenny Peterson | DT | Darrion Scott | |
| Adrien Clarke | LG | Adrien Clarke | Tim Anderson | DT | Tim Anderson | |
| Alex Stepanovich | C | Nick Mangold | Will Smith | DE | Will Smith | |
| Bryce Bishop | RG | Alex Stepanovich | Cie Grant | SLB | Robert Reynolds | |
| Shane Olivea | RT | Shane Olivea | Matt Wilhelm | MLB | Fred Pagac Jr. | |
| Michael Jenkins | SE | Michael Jenkins | Robert Reynolds | WLB | A.J. Hawk | |
| Craig Krenzel | QB | Craig Krenzel | Dustin Fox | CB | Dustin Fox | |
| Maurice Clarett | TB | Lydell Ross | Chris Gamble | CB | Chris Gamble | |
| Brandon Joe | FB | Branden Joe | Mike Doss | SS | Will Allen | |
| Chris Gamble | FL | Drew Carter | Donnie Nickey | FS | Nate Salley | |
| 2003 Returning Offensive Starters |
7 | |||||
| 2003 Returning Defensive Starters |
6 | |||||
| 2003 Total Returning Starters | 13 |
2002 14-0
2003 11-2 Ohio State defeated Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl
2004 USC Trojans
| 2004 | Def. Pos. | 2005 | 2004 | Off. Pos. | 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Holmes | TE | Dominique Byrd | Lawrence Jackson | DE | Lawrence Jackson | |
| Sam Baker | LT | Sam Baker | Mike Patterson | DT | Sedrick Ellis | |
| Jeff Byers | LG | Taitusi Lutui | Shaun Cody | DT | LaJuan Ramsey | |
| Ryan Kalil | C | Ryan Kalil | Frostee Rucker | DE | Frostee Rucker | |
| Fred Matua | RG | Fred Matua | Dallas Sartz | SLB | Thomas Williams | |
| Taitusi Lutui | RT | Winston Justice | Lofa Tatupu | MLB | Oscar Lua | |
| Dwayne Jarrett | SE | Dwayne Jarrett | Matt Grootegoed | WLB | Keith Rivers | |
| Matt Leinart | QB | Matt Leinart | Justin Wyatt | CB | Justin Wyatt | |
| LenDale White | RB | Reggie Bush | Eric Wright | CB | Josh Pinkard | |
| Lee Webb | FB | David Kirman | Jason Leach | FS | Scott Ware | |
| Steve Smith | WR | Steve Smith | Darnell Bing | SS | Darnell Bing | |
| 2005 Offensive Returning Starters | 7 | |||||
| 2006 Defensive Returning Starters | 4 | |||||
| 2006 Total Returning Starters |
11 |
2004 11-0
2005 12-1 USC lost to Texas in the BCS Title game
2001 Miami Hurricanes
| 2001 | Off. Pos. | 2002 | 2001 | Def. Pos. | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Shockey | TE | Kellen Winslow II | Andrew Williams | DE | Andrew Williams | |
| Bryant McKinnie | LT | Carlos Joseph | Matt Walters | DT | Matt Walters | |
| Sherko Haji-Rasouli | LG | Sherko Haji-Rasouli | William Joseph | DT | William Joseph | |
| Brett Romberg | C | Brett Romberg | Jerome McDougle | DE | Jerome McDougle | |
| Martin Bibla | RG | Ed Wilkins | D.J. Williams | OLB | D.J. Williams | |
| Joaquin Gonzalez | RT | Vernon Carey | Jonathan Vilma | MLB | Jonathan Vilma | |
| Andre Johnson | WR | Andre Johnson | Chris Campbell | OLB | Howard Clark | |
| Ken Dorsey | QB | Ken Dorsey | Mike Rumph | CB | Antrel Rolle | |
| Clinton Portis | HB | Willis McGahee | Phillip Buchanon | CB | Kelly Jenkins | |
| Najeh Davenport | FB | Kyle Cobia | Ed Reed | FS | Sean Taylor | |
| Daryl Jones | WR | Kevin Beard | James Lewis | SS | Maurice Sikes | |
| 2005 Offensive Returning Starters | 7 | |||||
| 2006 Defensive Returning Starters | 4 | |||||
| 2006 Total Returning Starters |
11 |
2001 12-0
2002 12-1 Miami lost to Ohio State in the BCS Title Game
2011 Alabama Crimson Tide
| 2011 | Off. Pos. | 2012 | 2011 | Def. Pos. | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Williams | TE | Michael Williams | Damion Square | DE | Damion Square | |
| Barrett Jones | LT | Cyrus Kouandjio | Josh Chapman | NG | Jesse Williams | |
| Chance Warmack | LG | Chance Warmack | Jesse Williams | DE | Ed Stinson | |
| William Vlachos | C | Barrett Jones | Courtney Upshaw | JLB | Xzavier Dickson | |
| Anthony Steen | RG | Anthony Sheen | Jarrell Harris | SLB | Adrian Hubbard | |
| D.J. Fluker | RT | D.J. Fluker | Nico Johnson | SLB | Nico Johnson | |
| DeAndrew White | WR | DeAndrew White | Dont'a Hightower | MLB | Trey DePriest | |
| AJ McCarron | QB | AJ McCarron | Dre Kirkpatrick | CB | Deion Belue | |
| Trent Richardson | RB | Eddie Lacey | DeQuan Menzie | CB | Dee Milliner | |
| Brad Smelley | TE | Kelley Johnson | Mark Barron | FS | Vinnie Sunseri | |
| Marquis Maze | WR | Kevin Norwood | Robert Lester | SS | Robert Lester | |
| 2012 Offensive Returning Starters |
7 | |||||
| 2012 Defensive Returning Starters | 3 | |||||
| 2012 Total Returning Starters |
10 |
2011 12-1
2012 13-1
Alabama won the championship in 2011 and 2012
I wanted to include the Ohio State championship teams prior to 1960, but the team guide only lists starters from 1960 through the present.
I also wanted to include the back-to-back championship teams of Nebraska ('94 and '95) and Miami ('88 and '89), but I could not find their depth charts.
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