I'll make a few specifications before I start the article.  Like mentioned on the first forum, these are players not underrated by buckeye fans at the time but underrated either by historians or the national media of their playing days.  So as you will see, all-american or all-Big Ten selections hurt a player on this list (not underrated by national media), while team captain or team MVP selections help a player.

To clarify some confusion on the last forum, this list is centered around players whose great careers went unnoticed, not unheralded recruits turned superstars.  I plan to write my next forum on that specific topic.

10. Marcus Marek, LB 1979-1982, 3 points

I am now ashamed to say I had never heard of Marek before writing this post.

Marcus's buckeye career is one that isn't as talked about when comparing the real linebacker U to Penn State's facade, but maybe it should be.  After all, Marek is our all-time leading tackler with 572* in his four year buckeye stint (four years of lettering, by the way).  In addition he produced two of the top ten buckeye tackle performances in a season, with 178* in 1982 (third all-time) and 148* in 1981 (eighth).  He could cover receivers too, intercepting 11 total passes.

The achievements don't stop there.  He was captain of the 1982 team.  In the four years he lettered, the buckeyes won the 1982 Holiday Bowl, the 1981 Liberty Bowl, and had an undefeated regular season in 1979 (one point from a natty, stupid USC).  In 1980 the buckeye defense allowed just 13.6 regular season points per game and had three shutouts.

The only thing keeping Marek from being higher on this list is that he was an all-american in 1982, and was twice first-team all-Big Ten.  I would say he deserved a Butkus but it didn't exist until 1985.

9. Tippy Dye, QB 1934-1936, 4 points

Not many stats were available from the era Dye played in.  What I do have on him is that we were 19-5 under his leadership, resulting in his being named Team Captain in 1936.  He started all three years he was eligible to play.

The most important stat on Dye is that he was the first buckeye QB to go 3-0 career against that team from up north, something that hadn't been done to that point and wasn't done again until Terrelle Pryor did it from 2008-2010.

Other than being twice named all-Big Ten, Dye hasn't received too much recognition for his accomplishments.

7(t). Gary Williams, WR 1979-1982, 6 points

The first of our two receivers on this list -- they are the two tied for seventh -- is Gary Williams.  Williams was only mentioned once on the original thread, but his resume is incredible for someone never named first-team all-Big Ten (he was second team twice).  He is third on Ohio State's all time career receiving yardage list with 2,792 of them.  He ranks fourth in receptions as well with 154, but with a relatively low number of touchdowns at 16 he comes off as more of a possession receiver.  He caught a pass in 48 consecutive games, a buckeye record.

His best game came against Florida State in 1981.  A ridiculous 13 reception, 220 yard performance in the October 3rd game is one of just four buckeye 200 yard games and ranks only behind David Boston's fourteen catch day against Penn State in 1997 in terms of receptions.  He finished with 50 grabs for 941 yards and 6 scores in that year.

Gary was also named a captain of the 1982 team.

7(t). Dane Sanzenbacher, WR 2007-2010, 6 points

Dane may have earned first-team all-Big Ten honors in 2010, but his career was still one rather unnoticed by the national media.  In that 2010 season alone, he caught 55 passes for 948 yards (ninth most by a buckeye in one season) and 11 TDs (tied for fifth most in a season).

His career totals add up to 124 receptions for 1,879 yards and 19 touchdowns.  In honor of his leadership he was named both a team captain in 2010 and the team MVP.  The buckeyes were 4-0** against the skunk weasels in the seasons he played, capturing the 2009 Rose Bowl and 2010 Sugar Bowl.**

5(t). Ross Homan, LB 2007-2010, 13 points

To describe Homan’s career in one word, I would say toughness.

Another linebacker that I believe doesn't get mentioned enough when "Linebacker U" is brought up; when I watched Homan it felt like he was around every play, refusing to get blocked at the second level.  He piled up 287 tackles (155 solo) on his career, in addition to 17 TFLs, 5.0 sacks, and 7 picks.

In 2009, Homan racked up 108 tackles and intercepted 5 passes.  But in 2010 his production "plummeted" to 72 tackles.  Why?  That 2010 season, in my opinion, is one of the great unnoticed stories in buckeye history (at least to outsiders) because Homan was team captain and a starter for every game that year while he had a broken collar bone.  72 tackles with a broken collar bone.  My goodness.

Homan was an anchor to some great buckeye defenses too... the silver bullets ranked top six in the country in points per game each of the three years he started.  He was a captain one of those years, 2010.  The buckeye defense also provided an avenue for Homan's career 4-0 record against TTUN and victories in the 2009 Rose Bowl and 2010 Sugar Bowl.**

Homan was named first-team all-Big Ten in 2010 and second-team in 2009.

5(t). Antonio Pittman, RB 2004-2006, 13 points

In spite of a 2006 first-team all-Big Ten nod, Pittman's highly productive buckeye career was overshadowed in the country by one Troy Smith.  Running for back-to-back 1,200 yard seasons in 2005 and 2006, Pittman averaged a tremendous 5.3 yards per carry in his years with Ohio State.  He totalled 2,945 yards and 22 scores, 14 in 2006 alone.

Pittman is another on this list with some good seasons to his name.  He was 3-0 against the Wolverweinies with a 2005 Fiesta Bowl crown.  The 2006 buckeyes were undefeated in the regular season with wins over two #2 teams.  Should have been a third...

4. Kurt Coleman, FS 2006-2009, 14 points

219 tackles (114 solo) in a career is quite a bit for a free safety.

Coleman was consistent, and consistently underrated, in his career donning the scarlet and gray.  In his three years starting he never finished with less than 64 take downs in a season.  He picked off 9 career passes, had 10.5 tackles for loss, and even recorded 3.0 sacks.

Playing on many of the same defenses as the aforementioned Ross Homan, he never played for a defense finishing outside the top five in points against, wrapped up 4-0 against Meat Chicken, and took home a 2009 Rose Bowl ring.  He was a captain in 2009.

Despite his consistency, Coleman was first-team all-Big Ten just once in 2009 and was never an all-american.

3. Bobby Hoying, QB 1992-1995, 15 points

Like Pittman, Hoying's best season was overshadowed by a Heisman trophy winner, this time Eddie George.  But my goodness, what a season he had in 2015.  Completing passes at a 62% clip, he finished with 3,269 yards (second most to Germaine's 1998 season) through the air and 29 TDs (third).

On his career he finished with 7,232 yards, which is second all-time to Art Schlicter in Ohio State history.  His 57 touchdown passes are tied with Terrelle Pryor for most.

Bobby Hoying was first-team all-Big Ten in 1995, but he probably deserves more recognition than that.

An interesting Hoying tid-bit is that he is the only buckeye quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a game on two separate occasions: against Purdue in 1994 and Pitt in 1995.

2. Terrelle Pyor, QB 2008-2010, 17 points

Pryor was selected Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2008, but was never an all-Big Ten player.  That's why he is second on this list.

In his three-year stint, Pryor completed 61% of his passes for 6,177 yards (fifth all-time) and 57 touchdowns (again, tied for Hoying as most).  He added over 2,000 yards and 17 scores on the ground.  His 2010 season included an incredible 65% completion percentage with 2,772 yards (fourth most in a buckeye season) and 27 touchdowns (fourth).

He lead the buckeyes to some big wins too, being only the second 3-0 TTUN quarterback in buckeye history.  He quarterbacked the 2009 Rose Bowl win and the 2010 Sugar Bowl win.**

1. Zach Boren, FB 2009-2012, LB 2012

Boren is number one on this list for so many reasons.  The best lead blocker I've ever seen.  A position change that was key to the 2012 season.  One of the more unnoticed solid linebacker performances in that 2012 season, actually, because Boren wound up with 50 tackles (24 solo), 3.5 TFLs and a sack in only six games.

Zach also holds the stat for most 11w avatars.

Back to his prowess as a lead blocker, he paved the way for "Boom" Herron to run for 1,155 yards in 2010.  The buckeyes were 14th in rushing offense that year, between Boom and Terrelle Pryor.  Boren was a key part of that.

He was a leader too, recognized by his team captain status in 2012.  He helped Ohio State to an undefeated season in 2012 and a Sugar Bowl in 2010.**

Honorable Mentions - Christian Bryant (2 points), Raymont Harris (1 point), Matt Wilhelm (1 point), and Joe Germaine (1 point).

* = Tackle statistics before 2005 are unofficial.

** = Forgetting the stupid NCAA sanctions.

Stats provide by a combination of sports-reference.com/cfb, buckeyefansonly.com/awards.html, and Wikipedia for Ohio State's Statistical leaders (it was well-sourced, so I felt confident).