By Anthony Ventura | West Virginia University

If we look over the last 10 years, the Ohio State football program has had quite a fun ride, but if we look simply at the comparison between the ends, 2006 and 2016, we really haven’t changed much. We started in 2006 with a run to the championship, and sure enough, here we are in 2016 with a run to the playoff. The Ohio State football program is, if nothing else, consistent.

BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS:

Troy Smith, Quarterback
How do talk about Ohio State 2006 without mentioning Troy Smith, the man who ended up winning the Heisman. He won the Heisman with a higher percentage of the vote than anyone not named Reggie Bush—which was later nullified. Smith didn’t blow you away with his stats compared to the QB’s today, but he was a solid player and a solid team captain who led the Buckeyes to the championship in 2006.

Joe Thomas (J.T.) Barrett, Quarterback
J.T Barrett is the highest scoring player in Ohio State history, so far accumulating 100 touchdowns, four short of the all-time Big Ten record. He is a two-time Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, and he made First Team All-Big Ten twice as well. He was a third team All-American while finishing 5th in Heisman voting in 2014. He has seven Ohio State records and one Big Ten record. With the playoff, and hopefully one more full season, he has more opportunities to break even more records.

Taylor Decker, Offensive Tackle
As a former offensive lineman myself, I couldn’t list best players without giving a shout-out to the self-proclaimed slobs. Decker was an All-American and an All-Big Ten performer in 2015, as well as being the only Buckeye the last 10 years to win Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year. In 2016, Taylor deservedly earned a first round selection in the NFL draft.

Braxton Miller, Quarterback and Wide Receiver
Miller was a two-time Big Ten MVP, two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, two-time First-Team All-Big Ten, two-time top 10 finisher in the Heisman, Big Ten Freshman of the Year—all as a quarterback. He was a 3rd round selection in the draft at a different position (wide receiver). He was arguably one of the most beloved Buckeyes of all time, and certainly one of the most beloved over the last 10 years.

Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back
In 2015 he ran for 100 yards in every game but one. In 2015 he was a second-team All-American, a first-team All-Big Ten running back as well as winner of the Big Ten MVP and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He was most known for his run of 220, 230, and 246 yards consecutively in the 2014 postseason on his way to winning offensive MVP of the 2015 national championship game. ‘Zeke is now close to breaking the NFL rookie rushing record. He is my favorite player of the last 10 years for Ohio State, to the point where, even as a Steelers fan, I bought his Cowboys jersey.

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS:

James Laurinaitis, Linebacker
Arguably one of the best linebackers Ohio State, or the country, has ever seen both on and off the field. Laurinaitis’ resume is phenomenal. He is the Los Angeles Rams all-time leader in tackles. At Ohio State, he was the winner of the Lott Trophy that recognizes both high character and athletic excellence. In addition, he was one of only eight three-time All-Americans that the Buckeyes have ever had, a three-time first-team All-Big Ten, two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and two-time winner of the Jack Lambert award. He finished with 365 total tackles at Ohio State. One of the best things about him, though, as with so many people over the last 10 years, he went undefeated against “That Team Up North.”

Malcolm Jenkins, Defensive Back
Jenkins isn’t only renown for his ability on the football field, he was also a leader of an Ohio State fraternity. Many fans do only remember him for his ability on the field. An All-American once, and a second team All-American another year, the three-time first team All-Big Ten nominee, and winner of the Thorpe award for the country’s best defensive back has carved out a nice career in the NFL as well.

Ryan Shazier, Linebacker
While Shazier didn’t always receive the awards and honors everyone else did, he was a one-time All-American and one-time first team All-Big Ten performer. He had 23.5 tackles for loss in 2013. To put that in perspective, three-time All-American James Laurinaitis had 24 tackles for loss in his entire four year career. Shazier put up a gaudy 144 tackles in 2013 and 317 total tackles in only three years. My favorite Shazier memory is when he had 20 tackles in one game against Indiana.

Joey Bosa, Defensive Lineman
Bosa was the 3rd overall selection in the 2016 NFL draft, that can only begin to describe his impact in three years in Columbus. He was a two-time All-American, and a two-time first team All-Big Ten. Bosa also won Big Ten Defensive Player of the year. In three years, he finished with 51 tackles for loss and 26 sacks, five forced fumbles, and he even grabbed an interception. The current San Diego Charger had 16 tackles for loss in his junior season even when he was being double and sometimes even triple-teamed each game. Going forward, he helped recruit his 5-star recruit brother, Nick, to the Ohio State campus as well.

MOST MEMORABLE WIN:

I have had some fierce debates about this with other Ohio State fans and we have probably narrowed it down to two games and I have had a hard time deciding. It is either the 2015 Sugar Bowl win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, or the next game after that, the championship win over the Oregon Ducks. I lean towards the Alabama win simply because of the great moments throughout it. I could probably go play-by-play and give you every single moment from that game because I have watched it so many times, but I’ll just give you the highlights. The Elliott hurdle at the beginning that everyone forgets because he then fumbled. The Evan Spencer pass to Mike Thomas at the end of the first half, probably the second most important play of the game and arguably the best reception I’ve ever seen, via Mike Thomas. The Cardale Jones run near the end of the half when he trucked Landon Collins. The Steve Miller INT return for a TD that is a “defensive lineman’s dream” as play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler put it. And of course, one of my favorite plays in Ohio State history, the most important play of that game. Lovingly named “85 yards through the heart of the south” or even the “Zeke streak.” Elliott’s 85-yard run with 3:30 left in the game that all but iced the game and got the Buckeyes a championship. I have watched that specific play so many times from so many angles that I can tell you what each of the 22 players on the field did on that play. The final score of 42-35 mean Ohio State finally took down the beasts from the SEC; Urban Meyer beat Nick Saban; Big Ten beat the SEC, and the Buckeyes finally beat the SEC after so many failed attempts. I’m sure many people are hoping for a rematch in this year’s National Championship game.

MOST DISAPPOINTING LOSS:

In 2006, the Ohio State football team had a great year, finishing 12-0 after “The Game of the Century” against Michigan. Number one ranked Ohio State beat the #2 ranked “Team Up North” 42-39. There was an argument to where they could simply wait a little over a month and have a rematch for the national championship, but a man by the name of Urban Meyer down at Florida had different plans. He campaigned, got his team in, and simply out-coached then-Ohio State coach Jim Tressel on the way to his first national championship. His quarterback combination of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow throttled the overmatched Buckeyes 41-14.

MOST SUCCESSFUL SEASON:

The 2014-15 season, Ohio State stumbled out of the gate after their star quarterback Braxton Miller went down for the season with an injury. Coach Meyer had to put in freshman Barrett at QB to play behind four new starters on the offensive line. He played terrible going 9-29 passing in an awful 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech in week 2. After that the Buckeyes never lost. In the 3rd quarter of the game against the “Team Up North,” Barrett went down with a broken leg and in came an unknown third-stringer named Cardale Jones who finished off that win. Fueled by the sudden and terrible loss of a teammate, Kosta Karageorge, Ohio State would upend the likes of Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon on their way to winning a national championship.

MOST DISAPPOINTING SEASON:

In 2011, following scandal, Coach Tressel, as well as many players, were booted off the team abruptly and the Buckeyes had to start new. If for nothing else, it is the only time in the last 10 years that Ohio State lost the final regular season game verse “The Team Up North.” It is also the only year in the past ten where the Buckeyes finished with a losing record (6-7). They even lost a bowl game that year with interim head coach Luke Fickell. The only good thing that came out of this season was that it led to the hire of new coach, Urban Meyer.

MOST IMPACTFUL PLAYER:

Braxton Miller is one of the most influential players in Ohio State history, and certainly in the last ten years. He is one of the few players to play as a true freshman, and to do it at QB no less really says something. He suffered through that tough 2011 season and probably prevented it from being even worse, and then led us to two-straight undefeated regular seasons and was set to lead us to a third before he was injured. Miller is the epitome of a team captain and a team player as, when he came back from injury, he did what was best for both the team and him by switching positions to wide receiver.

 

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER:
Dontre Wilson, not necessarily a bad player for the Buckeyes over his years, but never quite lived up to the hype. He was a 4-star recruit and was touted as the fifth best player in the state of Texas his senior year in high school. Wilson is first in all-purpose yards over his career at Ohio State among skill players if you don’t include J.T Barrett, but he never quite came into his own. He was expected to contribute as a wide receiver, but he never really played much there outside of the slot. Maybe he needed to contribute at running back, but again, he never really started, albeit he was behind Ezekiel Elliott. He was even expected to contribute more as a returner and he does play there but I think he makes all Ohio State fans hold their breath because he has had some ball protection problems. He still has a few games to make his mark at Ohio State and I sincerely hope he does.

MOST IMPACTFUL COACH:

Urban Meyer is one of the most impactful coaches is college football history and he has over and above impacted Ohio State the last 10 years. Funny enough, he both prevented Ohio State from winning a national championship (while at Florida) and won a national championship at Ohio State. He is 61-5 in his 5 years at Ohio State which is simply unheard of, and he is also the only coach to win his first five games against “The Team Up North.” I hope he stays at Ohio State longer than he stayed at Florida and I hope he brings many more championships to Columbus.

MOST NOTEWORTHY OFF THE FIELD EVENT:
The tattoo scandal, the butt of every joke about Ohio State in recent memory. It was the reason for the 2011 letdown of a season. Multiple Ohio State players sold autographed memorabilia for free tattoos, which is against NCAA regulations for amateur athletes. Coach Tressel knew about it and did not report it to the NCAA, causing them to put a 5-year show-cause ban on him. It stung for a year, but luckily with the help of Meyer, it didn’t sting for longer.

BIGGEST PERSONNEL LOSS:
Tom Herman was a great offensive coordinator at Ohio State during our massive championship run in 2014. His great offensive mind could overcome two injuries at the QB position and still bring us a championship. Since he left for Houston, and furthermore, Texas, Ohio State’s offense simply hasn’t been the same and I hope they can find an offensive coordinator that can fill his massive shoes soon while our defense is still the best in the country.