In 12 days, Ohio State will host Oregon State in the 2018 season opener. Below, you will find a list of the 39 players who have worn No. 12 since 1932.
Today's featured players are Tim Fox, Garcia Lane, Michael Jenkins, Dane Sanzenbacher, Cardale Jones and Denzel Ward.
| PLAYER | WORN | B1G MVP | TEAM MVP | AA | CAPT. | 1R NFL | ALL B1G | AC AA | NFL DRAFT | AC B1G | LETTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Rees | 1933-35 | 1933-35 | |||||||||
| Ernest Cartwright | 1936 | ||||||||||
| James Miller | 1937 | 1937 | |||||||||
| John Hallabrin | 1939-41 | 1939-41 | |||||||||
| Wilbur Schneider | 1942, 1946 | 1942, 1946 | |||||||||
| Myron Powelson | 1944 | ||||||||||
| William Biel | 1945 | 1945 | |||||||||
| James Clark | 1947-49 | 1947-49 | |||||||||
| Fred Bruney | 1950-52 | 1952 | 1953 | 1950-52 | |||||||
| John Auer | 1953 | 1953 | |||||||||
| Raymond Williams | 1954 | ||||||||||
| Dane Deshler | 1956 | ||||||||||
| Richard Haupt | 1959-60 | ||||||||||
| Robert Bruney | 1962-63 | 1962-63 | |||||||||
| John McCoy | 1964-66 | 1964-66 | |||||||||
| David Brungard | 1967-68 | 1967-68 | |||||||||
| Ross Moore | 1970-72 | ||||||||||
| Tim Fox | 1972-75 | 1975 | 1975 | 1976 | 1975 | 1975 | 1972-75 | ||||
| Michael Guess | 1976-79 | 1979 | 1977, 1978, 1979 | 1980 | 1976-79 | ||||||
| Garcia Lane | 1981-83 | 1983 | 1983 | 1984 | 1981-83 | ||||||
| Terry White | 1984-85 | 1984-85 | |||||||||
| Matthew Frantz | 1986-87 | 1986-87 | |||||||||
| Nick Cochran | 1988-89 | ||||||||||
| Troy Hilsenroth* | 1989 | ||||||||||
| Joe Pickens | 1991 | 1991 | |||||||||
| Brad Pope* | 1992 | 1992 | |||||||||
| Michael "Buster" Tillman | 1992-96 | 1993-96 | |||||||||
| Austin Moherman | 1997-99 | 1999 | |||||||||
| Michael Jenkins | 2000-03 | 2003 | 2004 | 2000-03 | |||||||
| Duane Crooks* | 2000 | ||||||||||
| Justin Zwick* | 2004-06 | 2004 | 2004-06 | ||||||||
| Dane Sanzenbacher | 2007-10 | 2010 | 2010 | 2008 | 2007-10 | ||||||
| Devin Barclay* | 2007-09 | 2009 | 2009 | ||||||||
| Doran Grant | 2011-14 | 2014 | 2014 | 2015 | 2011-14 | ||||||
| Cardale Jones | 2012-15 | 2016 | 2014-15 | ||||||||
| Denzel Ward | 2015-17 | 2017 | 2018 | 2017 | 2017 | ||||||
| Trevon Forte* | 2017 | 2017 | |||||||||
| Matthew Baldwin | 2018 | ||||||||||
| Sevyn Banks | 2018 |
*Wore another number at Ohio State
Did not earn a varsity letter while wearing No. 12
Tim Fox, S (1972-1975)
Born: 1953 (Canton)
High School: Glenwood
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 40-5-1 with Fox on the team.
1972 Big Ten Title.
1973 Big Ten Title.
1974 Big Ten Title.
1975 Big Ten Title.
1974 Defeated USC 42-21 to win the Rose Bowl.
Went 3-0-1 against That Team, beating them in 1972 and 1974 when That Team was ranked No. 3 and No. 4 in 1975.
Honors
1975 Captain.
1975 All-American.
1975 All-Big Ten.
1975 Academic All-Big Ten.
1998 Inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Fox's senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-0, 186...from Canton, Ohio...One of the finest defensive backs in college football...can play anywhere in the deep defense...one of the hardest hitters on the squad.
Had 37 solo tackles and 18 assists last year...three times stopped opposing backs for a loss on safety blitzes...intercepted three passes and broke up five others. At his best in big games.
Won ten high school letters at Glenwood High...captained his high school football, basketball and track teams.
Fox's Ohio State career per Wikipedia:
Tim Fox, a 1975 All-America and all-Big Ten selection, was a three-year starter at defensive back. He played in four Rose Bowls, starting in three. In 1975, Fox led the team in punt returns with 12 for a total of 182 yards and one touchdown. Fox averaged an impressive 15.2 yards per return. That same year on defense, Fox collected 44 tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown. Fox was also team captain in 1975.
The following is an excerpt from Buckeye Grove:
As a high school senior at Canton Glenwood high school, Fox was not heavily recruited.
He had a knee injury his senior year as well as a ruptured kidney that kept him out of six games his senior year and most schools that were recruiting him were either Division-II schools or schools like Kent State and other MAC schools.
That was until Tim's girlfriend introduced him to Harry Meyer, who was personal friends with Woody Hayes. Tim accepted the last scholarship offer of the Buckeyes' 1972 recruiting class.
I am one to believe that Tim Fox was one of the greatest safeties to ever play for the Buckeyes.
Fox was a two-time All American and was drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots. He played 14 years in the NFL for the New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams.He played in four Rose Bowls and was actually one of only two players to ever start in four Rose Bowls. The other was none other than Archie Griffin.
The Fox family legacy at Ohio State:
The Fox family lineage has produced football talent in later generations with two nephews playing Big Ten football.
Derek played safety for Penn State from 1996 through 1999 and Dustin played cornerback for the Buckeyes from 2000 to 2004.
Dustin Fox originally committed to Ohio State, but when John Cooper was fired Joe Paterno convinced Dustin to change his commitment to Penn State over the telephone. Jim Tressel was a relative unknown on the big stage at the time.
Tim would have no part of it. He called Dustin and convinced him to visit Ohio State with him and his daughter Haley, who was a current Ohio State student and field hockey player. Dustin reconfirmed his intent to attend OSU and went on to play four years for the Buckeyes. He was a starter and team captain of the 2002 National Championship team and like his uncle, played for three teams in the NFL.
Garcia Lane, CB (1981-1983)
Born: 1961 (Youngstown)
High School: South Youngstown Academy
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 27-9 with Lane on the team.
1981 Big Ten Title.
1981 Defeated Navy 31-28 to win the Liberty Bowl.
1982 Defeated BYU 47-17 to win the Holiday Bowl.
1984 Defeated Pitt 28-23 to win the Fiesta Bowl.
Honors
1983 Captain.
1983 All-Big Ten.
Lane's senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
5-10, 177...from Youngstown, Ohio...Has played a total of 686 minutes over a three year career at Ohio State, tops among all defensive players...started all 24 games the past two years.
Second in the Big Ten in punt returns in 1982...a sure tackler who hits surprisingly hard...elected defensive co-captain of the 1983 Buckeyes.
Played both quarterback and wide receiver on offense and safety on defense at South High...admires Lynn Swann...will be one of the top defensive backs in the Big Ten.
Lane is third all-time at OSU with 895 punt return yards.
Michael Jenkins, WR (2000-2003)
Born: 1982 (Tampa, FL)
High School: A.P. Leto (Tampa)
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 40-11 with Jenkins on the team.
2002 National Champion.
2002 Big Ten Title.
2003 Defeated No. 1 Miami 31-24 in 2OT to win the Tostistos Fiesta Bowl National Championship Game.
2001 Defeated That Team 26-20.
2002 Defeated That Team 14-9.
Honors
2003 Captain.
2003 Team MVP.
Jenkins' senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-5, 215...from Tampa, FL...One of the top receivers in college football and a leading candidate for postseason honors in 2003...made one clutch catch after another last year, none more dramatic than his game-winning 37-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-one at Purdue that gave unbeaten Ohio State a 10-6 lead and hard-fought victory with 1:36 to play.
Ohio State fans voted that catch as "Play of the Year" for the Buckeyes in 2002, but his 17-yard sideline grab on fourth-and-14 in the first overtime in the national championship game at the Fiesta Bowl was a close second.
His combination of size, speed, and sure, soft hands make him a defender's nightmare...effortless receiver with the ability to catch the ball in a crowd, often times going up and over would-be-defenders...will be in his third-year as a starter and heads into the fall with at least one reception in 26-consecutive games.
Despite his heroics last year, he remains somewhat of an underrated player...nobody better in the clutch.
Rated as the No. 2 athlete in the state of Florida...rotated between running back and receiver on offense as a senior...also played linebacker and defensive back...played basketball and ran track (200, 400 and triple jump)...was the Track Athlete of the Year in Tampa as a senior.
Jenkins' Ohio State career per ohiostatebuckeyes.com:
Senior split end Michael Jenkins has been selected by his teammates as the Most Valuable Player on the 2003 Ohio State football team. Jenkins received the award at Sunday's annual team banquet held at the Adams Mark Hotel in Columbus. Approximately 800 people attended the luncheon and awards ceremony, where 26 seniors were recognized for their contributions this past year.
Jenkins led the Buckeyes in receiving during the regular season with 50 receptions for 738 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 14.8 yards per catch and 61.5 receiving yards per game.
Jenkins is just the third wide receiver in Ohio State history to win MVP honors. The other two were split end Cris Carter in 1986 and flanker Jeff Graham in 1990.
Jenkins heads into this year's bowl game with 2,802 career receiving yards on 160 career receptions, totals that rank him second and third, respectively, in the OSU records book. He needs 54 yards to surpass David Boston (2,855) as the school's all-time leader in receiving yardage.
"Michael is an unselfish leader and a great player, who constantly came up with the big play that made the difference for us on both offense and special teams this year," praised head coach Jim Tressel of the Tampa, Fla., product. "He has had a great year and a great career as a Buckeye."
The 6-5 Jenkins also received the SAE Award as the Most Valuable Player in the Homecoming Game (Iowa). He returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown against the Hawkeyes. It was his first career punt return.
Jenkins played in the NFL from 2004 until the New England Patriots released him on August 15th 2013.
Dane Sanzenbacher, WR (2007-2010)
Born: 1988 (Maumee, Ohio)
High School: Toledo Central Catholic
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 45-8 with Sanzenbacher on the team.
2007 Big Ten Title.
2008 Big Ten Title.
2009 Big Ten Title.
2010 Defeated Oregon 26-17 to win the Rose Bowl.
2011 Defeated Arkansas 31-26 to win the Sugar Bowl.
Went 4-0 against That Team.
Honors
2010 Captain.
2010 Team MVP.
2010 All-Big Ten.
Sanzenbacher's senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
5-11, 180...from Toledo, Ohio...Speedy receiver who has made a significant impact on the Buckeye offense...tough, talented athlete with great instincts for the game...dependable and team focused.
Finished his high school senior season with 61 recpetions for 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns...in seven career playoff games, recorded 40 receptions for 842 yards and nine touchdowns in addition to 40 solo tackles and eight interceptions...helped guide Toledo Central Catholic to the 2005 State Championship with two touchdown receptions.
Grabbed 65 receptions for 16 touchdowns as a junior...owned a 3.3 GPA...also spent time at quarterback and defensive back...all-state in the 400-meter dash.
Sanzenbacher was voted MVP, won the Paul Warfield and Bo Rein Awards in 2010 per ohiostatebuckeyes.com:
Ohio State receiver Dane Sanzenbacher was voted 2010 team Most Valuable Player as announced at the 2010 Football Appreciation Banquet this afternoon at the Ohio Union.
Sanzenbacher, a senior from Toledo, also received the Paul Warfield Award as the outstanding wide receiver and the Bo Rein Award as the most inspirational senior (voted by the team). Sanzenbacher led the Buckeyes and ranked second in the Big Ten with 10 touchdown receptions. He finished the regular season with 52 catches for 889 yards for an average of 17.1 yards per catch -- the best in the Big Ten.
Cardale Jones, QB (2012-2015)
High School: Glenville
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 50-4 with Jones on the team.
2012 undefeated season.
2012 Big Ten Leaders Title.
2013 Big Ten Leaders Title.
2014 National Champion.
2014 Big Ten Title.
2014 Big Ten East Title.
2015 Big Ten East Title.
Defeated No. 1 Alabama 42-35 to win the 2015 Sugar Bowl.
Defeated No. 2 Oregon 42-20 to win the 2015 CFP National Championship.
Defeated No. 8 Notre Dame 44-28 to win the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.
Went 4-0 against That Team.
Honors
Big Ten Championship Game MVP
Jones' senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-5, 250...from Cleveland, Ohio...Cardale Jones took all the reps as the team's No. 1 quarterback during the 2015 spring drills as he was the only one of the Big 3 --- Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett are the other two --- who was healthy enough to do so.
Jones' spring plan, according to coach Urban Meyer, was to "get a million reps" and to continue to improve because "with reps, he became a very functional player for us"...Meyer also referred to Jones as being "still raw" and "almost an older rookie" so the spring was his to learn and grow from.
Jones is the first Ohio State quarterback to win three post-season games, and, to accomplish that feat in his first three starts on the stage he was on, well words --- amazing, outstanding, crazy, ridiculous, unreal, holy cow and wow! --- simply don't reflect the magnitude of the effort.
He was nominated for an ESPY in the "breakout" player category for his efforts...Jones is a true hero for his efforts, and for more reasons than quarterbacking Ohio State to its eighth national championship: three days after the Oregon win he told a live national television audience in a high school packed with impressionable teenagers that he was returning to Ohio State for the 2015 season because "...one of the most important things for me is to graduate".
He led perennial northeast Ohio high school power Cleveland Glenville to a 24-3 record as a starting quarterback...passed for 1,689 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior in 2011 and was named third-team Division I all-state by the Associated Press...was the MVP of the 2010 Offense-Defense Bowl, and he also played in the Big 33 Game.
Denzel Ward, CB (2015-2017)
High School: Nordonia
Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 35-5 with Jones on the team.
2015 Big Ten East Title.
2016 Big Ten East Title.
2017 Big Ten Title.
2017 Big Ten East Title.
Defeated No. 8 Notre Dame 44-28 to win the Fiesta Bowl.
Defeated No. 8 USC 24-7 to win the Cotton Bowl.
Went 3-0 against That Team.
Honors
2017 Consensus All-American.
2017 All-Big Ten.
Ward's senior bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
5-11, 191...from Macedonia, Ohio...Denzel Ward is by many attributes --- game experience, intelligence, skill, athletic ability --- the next Ohio State cornerback with high NFL Draft pick potential..."he's a gifted player," cornerbacks coach Kerry Combs said this spring.
The true junior has played in 25 consecutive games for the Buckeyes going back to the second game of his trues freshman season in 2015 and he's also been timed as the fastest Buckeye...he enters the season a leader of the unit and with 30 career tackles and nine passes defended.
Ward helped lead Nordonia to a 14-1 record and the Division II state championship game in 2014 by starting on defense with nine interceptions and 18 pass break-ups and on offense with more than 1,300 total yards and 20 touchdowns...named the Division II co-defensive player of the year and a first-tam Associated Press all-state selection...also named Cleveland.com's Defensive Player of the Year.
A multiple state qualifier in track and field as part of Nordonia's 4x400 meter relay and as a long jumper.
| NAME | YEAR | ROUND | PICK | POSITION | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRED BRUNEY | 1953 | 3 | 35 | HB | BROWNS |
| TIM FOX | 1976 | 1 | 21 | DB | PATRIOTS |
| MIKE GUESS | 1980 | 6 | 15 | DB | BEARS |
| GARCIA LANE | 1984 | SUPP. | DB | CHIEFS | |
| MICHAEL JENKINS | 2004 | 1 | 29 | WR | FALCONS |
| DORAN GRANT | 2015 | 4 | 12 | CB | STEELERS |
| CARDALE JONES | 2016 | 4 | 13 | QB | BILLS |
| DENZEL WARD | 2018 | 1 | 4 | DB | BROWNS |
| 99 | 98 | 97 | 96 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 90 |
| 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 80 |
| 79 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 70 |
| 69 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 62 | 61 | 60 |
| 59 | 58 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 52 | 51 | 50 |
| 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 |
| 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
| 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 |
| 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
95 days until The Game.
