A couple of Buckeyes have a chance to be immortalized.
Ohio State football legends James Laurinaitis and Chris Ward will have a chance to earn one of college football's greatest honors as they have both been named to the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
Laurinaitis was a three-time first-Team all-American, earning consensus honors in 2006 and 2008 while he was a unanimous selection in 2007. He was also a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and won the 2007 Butkus Award and the 2006 Nagurski Trophy.
During Laurinaitis' time at Ohio State, the Buckeyes won four-straight Big Ten titles and made the national championship games in both 2006 and 2007.
Ward was a two-time First-Team All-American, earning consensus honors in 1976 and unanimous honors in 1977. He was also a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and helped lead the Buckeyes to at least a share of four conference titles during his time at Ohio State.
| PLAYER | POSITION | YEARS | INDUCTED |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHIC HARLEY | HB | 1916-17, 19 | 1951 |
| GAYLORD STINCHCOMB | HB | 1917-20 | 1973 |
| WES FESLER | E | 1928-30 | 1954 |
| GOMER JONES | C | 1934-35 | 1978 |
| GUST ZARNAS | G | 1935-37 | 1975 |
| BILL WILLIS | T | 1942-44 | 1971 |
| LES HORVATH | QB | 1940-42, 44 | 1969 |
| WARREN AMLING | G/T | 1944-46 | 1984 |
| JIM DANIEL | T | 1939-41 | 1977 |
| VIC JANOWICZ | HB | 1949-51 | 1976 |
| HOPALONG CASSADY | HB | 1952-55 | 1979 |
| JIM PARKER | G | 1943-46 | 1974 |
| AUREALIUS THOMAS | G | 1955-57 | 1989 |
| ARCHIE GRIFFIN | RB | 1972-75 | 1986 |
| JIM STILLWAGON | MG | 1968-70 | 1991 |
| BOB FERGUSON | FB | 1959-61 | 1996 |
| RANDY GRADISHAR | LB | 1971-73 | 1998 |
| JOHN HICKS | T | 1970-73 | 2001 |
| JACK TATUM | DB | 1968-70 | 2004 |
| JIM HOUSTON | E | 1957-58 | 2005 |
| REX KERN | QB | 1968-70 | 2007 |
| CHRIS SPIELMAN | LB | 1984-87 | 2009 |
| EDDIE GEORGE | RB | 1992-95 | 2012 |
| ORLANDO PACE | LT | 1994-96 | 2014 |
| TOM COUSINEAU | LB | 1975-78 | 2016 |
| KEITH BYARS | RB | 1982-85 | 2020 |
| MIKE DOSS | S | 1999-02 | 2022 |
This will be the fourth time Laurinaitis has appeared on the ballot and the sixth time for Ward. Ohio State currently has 27 players in the College Football Hall of Fame after Mike Doss was selected last year.
To be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, a player must have received first-team All-American honors during his career, must be at least 10 years removed from his collegiate career and no longer playing professionally and must have played college football within the last 50 years.
