Our Honor Defend

The Ohio State Alumni Association recently ran a poll asking fans to select the All-Alumni Offense, Defense and Special Teams.  The poll, which ran from late 2008 until February 2009, finally concluded with the unveiling of the fan votes.  Since it’s still the offseason and I’m bored, I thought I’d take a looksie over the proposed All-Alumni Team Offense, weighing in on good choices, great choices, and what other votes I would cast because I should not, under any circumstances, be allowed to vote in anything.

Quarterback

The Leading Vote-Getter: Rex Kern, with 535 votes.

My Call: Good call.  Rex Kern was the sophomore starting quarterback on the 1968 national championship team of “super sophomores”.  These super sophomores led the way against previous Big Ten champion Purdue, ran up the score on Michigan, and bested no. 2 USC in the Rose Bowl to solidify their spot on top of the AP rankings.  Thus: national championship.  While Buckeye fans do — and should — think of Kern fondly for that alone, and a stellar career that saw him win all but two games for the duration of his career, there’s a technical gift that Kern had that few, if any, other Buckeyes had.  No one at the time could hide the ball as well Kern did.  At the time, legerdemain was an essential element to properly playing the quarterback position and Kern had mastered it.  Assuming this hypothetical All-Alumni Offense will feature a prominent running game (and it damn well better), Kern is an ideal quarterback for the offense.

Who I Would’ve Voted For: Art Schlichter.  Buckeye fans struggle with the legacy of Art Schlichter.  He was essentially Earle Bruce’s quarterback, and Buckeye fans seem to struggle with Bruce’s legacy as well.  Regrettably, Schlichter developed into something of a social pariah.  Buckeye fans either struggle to forget him, and sometimes don’t know him at all.  The fact that Troy Smith finished well-ahead of Schlichter when Schlichter’s career stats far surpass that of Smith suggests as much.  Still, in spite of Troy having a stellar second half of a career¹ and Kern being a legit choice to start at the position, I’d vote for Schlichter.  He had similar ability to hide the ball on option plays, was a more powerful runner and a superior passer with better career stats².  I follow my dad’s thinking on Schlichter: He was one of the best athletes the Buckeyes have ever had.  He succeeded in spite of the coaching change and the Buckeye coaching staff having to learn how to use him on the fly.  If Woody is the All-Alumni Team coach, I’m appointing Jim Tressel as the All-Alumni Offensive Coordinator and perhaps Walt Harris as the All-Alumni QB Coach just to make sure he’s used efficiently.

Who I Also Would’ve Voted For… For The Hell Of It: Cornelius Greene.  He ran like a deer, and passed like a tyrannosaurus rex.  C’mmmmmon, it’d be fun!

Running Backs

The Leading Vote-Getter(s): Archie Griffin with 1181  votes and Eddie George with 656 votes.  I guess this assumes they’d alternate playing time.

My Call: Great call.  The Buckeyes have had very good tailbacks in their illustrious history, so luminaries like Chic Harley, Keith Byars and Hopalong Cassady were necessarily excluded.  However, Griffin and George have 3 Heismans between them.  Eddie George was a tall, punishing back who, by 1995, finally developed the patience and vision necessary to be more than just a bruiser.  He had long strides, power and the endurance to wear out opposing defenses late into the game.  As for Archie? Well… I think people forget just how truly great Archie Griffin was as a tailback.  His string of 31 consecutive 100 yard games came at a time when that feat was considered superhuman.  It seems impressive enough now, but it came at a time where it was jaw-dropping then.  Even then, I don’t think our younger fans have had the chance to watch Archie Griffin play in his prime.  Watch him run if you can.  He’s the only tailback I’ve seen outside of Barry Sanders that could move in 3 directions (forward, left, right) almost simultaneously.  Ankles were figuratively broken.

Who I Also Would’ve Voted For… For The Hell Of It: Jeff Logan, because Jeff Logan is man-pretty.

Fullback

The Leading Vote-Getter: Pete Johnson with 508 votes.

My Call: Great call.  My only complaint is that Pete Johnson should’ve gotten all 1439 votes.  Yes, that’s hyperbole considering that Jim Otis, John Brockington and Bob Ferguson were on the list and needed to be considered, but Pete Johnson was a bad, bad dude when he was playing lead blocker to Archie Griffin.  Known basically as the mule that trudged forward for touchdowns that Archie Griffin’s extended runs help set up, he still tallied 1059 yards in 1975.  This is the only time in Buckeye history two tailbacks have run for over 1000 yards.  He is first in career TD for Ohio State with 58.  Until Mike Nugent and Jim Tressel’s FG-apalooza of 2003 and 2004, he was the leading scorer in Buckeye history.  He was that damn good.  Mind you, Pete Johnson clocked in at 250 pounds for most of his career.  That’s a big fullback now; that was planet-sized back then.  It was also probably unfair and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  That’s just how Woody and Pete Johnson rolled.

What I Also Would’ve Done, Because I Am That Guy: Clone Pete Johnson, take out a receiver and put Pete Johnson behind Pete Johnson in a Maryland-I formation with either Archie and Eddie George.  May God have mercy on you because the Pete Johnsons would not.

Tight End

The Leading Vote-Getter: John Frank with 446 votes.

My Call: Great call.  Of the available options, John Frank was clearly the best option.  I’m glad that Buckeye fans remember him fondly because he was basically the team MVP of the 1983 season.  He made an important grab on a 4th down in the final drive of the 1984 Fiesta Bowl to eventually set up victory against Pitt.  His finest hour may have come against Oklahoma.  Therein, Frank — who fasted for the two days prior to the game because of religious observation — was inserted to the boiling heat of Norman (approx. 135 degrees on the field) and caught two TDs to propel the Buckeyes to the upset of the no. 2 ranked Sooners in Norman.

Frank is also on the Israeli Bobsledding Team.  He’ll even help you avoid hair loss.  There is nothing he can’t do.

Someone Who Probably Should’ve Been Considered: 1995 Rickey Dudley.  Dudley originally came to Ohio State for basketball, and thus only had two years of football in 1994 and 1995 before running out of his alloted time as a scholarship athlete.  He didn’t provide much in 1994, as others were ahead of him on the depth chart.  However, in 1995, he vaulted himself ahead of everyone else to be the guy at the position and was basically unstoppable.  With Glenn, Hoying and George also on that team, and Pace and company setting things up, Dudley was quite the weapon at the position.  Sadly, he ran out of time.

Someone Who Probably Should’ve Been Considered… For The Hell Of It: Fred Pagac Sr.  He was a 3 year starter at tight end back in the day and likes to boast that he left the school with the career receptions record.  That said, that career receptions record wasn’t much to sneeze at, but apparently he had it.

Wide Receiver

The Leading Vote-Getters: Cris Carter with 527 votes and Paul Warfield with 377 votes.

My Call: Great call on Carter, a little confused about Warfield.  This is nothing against Warfield.  Mind you, I’m a Brownie through and through.  However, was he not formally a running back at Ohio State?  Was he not first team All-Big Ten at that position? He was the primary receiving option for the Buckeyes in 1962 and 1963, but he was also the primary everything option for the Buckeyes as an upperclassmen.  He played defensive back and also returned punts and kicks.  He was arguably the most complete player for Ohio State outside of Chic Harley, Vic Janowicz and Hopalong Cassady, but it still makes me wonder if people voting here considered his Browns and Dolphins career in this vote.

Cris Carter is a no-brainer.  He was arguably the first great wide receiver at Ohio State in many great wide receivers to come and left as the most prolific receiver in the school’s history.  It’s easy to say Carter is a no-brainer, but Terry Glenn was fantastic doing the same thing in 1995.  I’d give the edge to Carter for a more productive 3 year span whereas Terry Glenn had one season of brilliance before taking the money and running to the NFL.  It’s hard to blame him.

Who I Would’ve Voted For: If, on this team, Carter is going to be the underneath guy that uses smooth route-running to create separation, the All-Alumni Offense needs a home run threat.  This is where I’d be inclined to vote for Joey Galloway, who finished 6th in the overall vote.  Carter was a split-end at Ohio State; Galloway was a featured flanker as a Buckeye.  Put those two on the same field together and let the celebration begin.

My God, look at the receivers that didn’t make the cut: David Boston, Santonio Holmes, Michael Jenkins and many others.  Maybe it’s meritocratic, but I’m still a little skeptical that Ted Ginn Jr finished third whereas Gary Williams and Doug Donley finished last.

What I Also Would’ve Done, Because You Should Have Already Known I’d Do This: Brian Baschnagel.  You know why.

Offensive Tackles

The Leading Vote-Getters: Orlando Pace with 1192 votes and John Hicks with 742 votes.

My Call: Great call.  Orlando Pace was the greatest college football tackle of all time.  He started every game of his 3 year college career and did not concede a single sack in his final two years.  Concede a sack? Hell son, most defensive linemen ended up on the ground during the play.  The flurry of votes Orlando Pace got is one occasion where I do not suspect a recency bias is swaying the results here.  He really was that dominant.

It’s good that Buckeye fans remember John Hicks for how good he was.  He was a real road-grader in college.  The Buckeyes had 3 Heisman finalists in 1973 and Hicks finished second of all vote-getters (sophomore Archie placed fifth and Randy Gradishar placed sixth.  Archie decided he was done being anything other than no. 1 after this.).  If we assume that Archie and Randy Gradishar stole votes from Hicks, and were on the list because of the widespread appreciation of Ohio State football³, then Hicks wins the Heisman.  He had already won the Lombardi Award and the Outland.  The Heisman would’ve given him the treble.

Necessarily Left Out: You could vote for Korey Stringer over Hicks and still have essentially made a very good choice.  Stringer finished third with a distant 337 votes.

Not Even On The List, For Some Reason: Bill Roberts.  He’s not the best and not going to start, but should be on the list of options.  He was a guard in his long career as an NFLer, but he was a left tackle for the Buckeyes.  I believe.  Either way, he doesn’t appear as an option at either guard or tackle.

Offensive Guards

The Leading Vote-Getters: Jim Parker with 960 votes and Jim Lachey with 929 votes.

My Call: Great call.  Jim Parker was one of the most important players on Woody Hayes’ first national championship team in 1954.  Parker played in a time when it was still customary to play both ways and was as effective on defense as he was on offense.  He really established himself as a true offensive guard at the NFL and, unlike Warfield, it’d be fair to consider him here.  Similarly, Jim Lachey, who I believe was a left tackle for the Redskins, was a guard for all four years as a Buckeye.  He was arguably Earle Bruce’s best lineman.

Someone You Should Know More: Aurealius Thomas. Thomas was an all too important player on the Buckeyes 1957 national championship team and was pivotal on the interior of the line.

Center

The Leading Vote-Getter: Nick Mangold with 551 votes.

My Call: Good call.  My only reservation is not saying great call is because I’d be as pleased with LeCharles Bentley.  Mangold, though, is a fine choice.  He was usually subbed in during the 2002 season as a true freshman, along with classmate AJ Hawk.  He took over at center midway through the 2003 season (against Iowa, right?), moving previous starter Alex Stepanovich to right guard, if my memory does not deceive me.  By time he matriculated to the NFL, he had developed into a center that Buckeye fans could cherish.  He routinely helped diagnose defenses before the snap and blew defenders off the ball.  Drafted in the first round by the Jets, he was just selected to his first Pro Bowl.  May it be the first of many.

Someone You Should Know More: Jeff Uhlenhake. He was a 4 year starter as a Buckeye and those are rare in Ohio State’s storied history.

1. …that ends after November 2006.  Nothing else happened after that. [↩]
2. Though, in the interest of full disclosure, Schlichter’s 4 years as starter (including an awwwwwful freshman campaign) distort the overall career statistics when Buckeyes like Joe Germaine and Bobby Hoying have put up similarly good stats in less time [↩]
3. I wish we had that now. [↩]