Explanation of the points system: two top ten lists were compiled, one for the community based upon comments and votes, the other based upon the resumes of the players mentioned on the thread. First on a list = ten points, second = nine, and so on.
9(t). Hopalong Cassady, 1952-1955 RB, 7 points
He was a big play player. When the marbles were up for grabs, he made the necessary plays.
Former Ohio State radio voice Burt Charles
Big play player indeed. Before it was all said and done, Hopalong would break a nearly forty-year-old scoring record at Ohio State while picking up namings as an all-american in 1954 and 1955 with a Heisman Trophy the latter year. He played both ways.
That’s not why Cassady is on this list though. In 1954, the first of Hop’s all-american years, he was the MVP of Ohio State’s second national championship team -- the first to do so undefeated. The biggest play came against Wisconsin during week 5 of that season. A second-ranked Badger squad had come into Columbus riding high off a win over fifth-ranked Purdue and was leading 14-10 on the good guys when this happened:
The late third quarter play changed the momentum of the game and the buckeyes would go on to win 31-14.
9(t). Jack Nicklaus, 1958-1961 Golfer, 7 points
The first and likely only ever golf player to make this list, Nicklaus picked up two U.S. Amateur titles in 1959 and 1961, and one NCAA championship also in 1961. In the 1959 Amateur championship he was tied with title defender Charles Coe going into the last hole. His birdie beat Coe’s par and he took home the title, the youngest amateur champion since 1909.
Nicklaus is part of a very select group of non-band members to dot the i.
7(t). Maurice Clarett, 2002 RB, 9 points
Slow Mo picked up more than 1,200 yards during Ohio State’s run to the 2002 BCS national title, and scored 16 times on the ground, all as a true freshman. The buckeyes had close calls throughout the season, and for that reason Clarett is the first of four players you will see from that team on this list. But he may have had the most clutch play of them all when he stripped Sean Taylor to get the ball back after a struggling Craig Krenzel got picked off in the endzone.
That play is renowned as one of the most aware and crucial in the team’s history, but sometimes people forget it was also Clarett who scored the game winning touchdown.
7(t). Mike Nugent, 2001-2004 PK, 9 points
It takes nerves of steel to attempt a 55-yard field goal as time expires and win the game.
This was the last of three career game winners that Nugent kicked, and he had several key performances in 2002, such as going 2-2 on field goals against Wisconsin in a 19-14 win. He was named an all-american for his efforts.
In 2004 Nuge would become the only specialist named Ohio State’s Team MVP, hitting 5 out of 5 field goals against N.C. State and going 4-4 against Oklahoma State. He only missed three field goals all year, hitting a nation-leading 24 of 27 for an 89 percent success rate. He won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker and was named an all-american a second time.
3(t). Cardale Jones, 2013-2015 QB, 10 points
To start the year as the third string quarterback, have the two in front of you go down, and then take over the helm and lead the team to a Big Ten title, Sugar Bowl upset of Alabama, and an eventual national title. Jones threw for at least 240 yards in that three game stretch, completing 61 percent of his passes for 5 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. He added 90 yards and a score on the ground.
In all, Dolo would go 11-0 as a starter.
3(t). Michael Jenkins, 2001-2003 WR, 10 points
Michael Jenkins made two catches -- two -- that the buckeyes don’t win the 2002 national championship without. End of story.
The first is to be covered later, but the second came on that wonderful night against the Hurricanes in the first overtime period. See, with the controversy surrounding the famous 4th and 3 pass interference call most people forget that Ohio State had 4th and 14 with the game on the line just a down set earlier. That’s when Jenkins ran this beautiful route:
Jenkins would end up accounting for 4 of the 7 Ohio State receptions in that game against Miami.
3(t). Chic Harley, 1916-1917, 1919 B, 10 points
If you never saw him run with a football, we [the Ohio State Journal] can't describe it to you. It wasn't like Thorpe or Grange or Harmon or anyone else. It was kind of a cross between music and cannon fire, and it brought your heart up under your ears. In the hardest-fought gridiron battles, Harley usually would get away and score the winning touchdown.
Longtime OSU Journal sports editor Bob Hooey
If a big play needed to be made at any time during the 1916, 1917, or 1919 seasons, Harley was the guy to make it happen. Harley led Ohio State to a 21-1-1 record when he played, coming out on top in close games against Illinois (7-6) and Wisconsin (14-13) in 1916 to go undefeated with the buckeyes’ first Western Conference title; taking home another Western title in 1917; and beating TTUN for the first time in 1919. Chic was an all-american each of the three years he played.
3(t). Rex Kern, 1968-1970 QB, 10 points
Kern is the only player on this list with two national titles to his name. A member of the “Super Sophomores”, he performed on the big stage throughout his career, beating three top 5 teams in 1968 (including USC 27-16 in the Rose Bowl to secure the natty) and one more in 1970. Kern was top 5 for the heisman vote in both 1969 and 1970.
In that 1968 Rose Bowl against USC, Rex would throw for two fourth quarter touchdowns to take the buckeye lead from 13-10 to 27-10 and put the game out of reach for the Trojans. He threw a total of 19 career scores with 2,444 yards to boot, but was even more effective on the ground with 1,714 yards and 24 endzone trips there.
2. Zeke Elliott, 2013-2015 RB, 16 points
The other hero taken from the 2014 championship squad is Ezekiel Elliott. And he probably played the biggest role, gaining 696 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. He was over 200 yards in each game of the three game stretch, going right through the heart of Alabama’s defense when it mattered most with three and a half minutes remaining to keep the buckeyes ahead two scores.
He would come up big in the 2015 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame too:
Zeke went for 149 yards and 4 scores that game. His heroics against Indiana this year are also some that shouldn’t be forgotten.
1. Craig Krenzel, 2000-2003 QB, 19 points
Let me just start off by saying that Craig Krenzel had 5 fourth quarter comebacks and 4 overtime wins in just two seasons (2002 and 2003). Krenzel also orchestrated the 2002 national championship team, in a season filled with near heartbreaks. But Krenzel always had the poise and moxie to get done what needed to get done and win all 14 ball games that year.
The stats for Krenzel weren’t always impressive. But he always seem to pull out a win when his team needed it. He was named the MVP of that 2002 National Championship team and Captain in 2003. His main skill was being a leader, and it showed when things needed to happen in any football game.
Honorable Mentions: Kenny Guiton (3 points), Anthony Gonzalez (2 points), Braxton Miller (2 points), and Evan Spencer (1 point)
Stats and other info provided by: ohiostatebuckeyes.com, sports-reference.com, buckeyefansonly.com, Jack Nicklaus's Wikipedia page, and various other articles on wikipedia.
