1. Archie Griffin: In discussing the greatest Ohio State running backs of all time it would be hard for me not to put Griffin at the top of my list. Archie averaged just over two hundred and forty carries for three straight years and in that same span would win the Heisman trophy in 1974 and 1975, making him the only player in the history of college football to do so, a feat that is not likely to ever be equaled again. In his four year career at Ohio State he would total just over five thousand five hundred yards and would rush for more than one thousand yards for three straight seasons. Griffin would also be just the second player in history to play in four Rose Bowl games.
2. Eddie George: Eddie George set the tone with his strong running ability and enormous size. Due to a lost year in 1993 from an injury, Eddie would only amass 3,768 yards rushing and 44 touchdowns over his career, but that still left him with a very respectable 5.5ypc average. Eddie George would rush for a school record 1,927 yards in his senior season along with a total of 24 touchdowns, giving him a 152 yard per game average. In that same season he would rush for two hundred yards three times. As if that wasn’t impressive enough he would go onto rush for a school record 314 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Illinois. For his efforts he would be award the Heisman trophy.
3. Keith Byars: I put Keith Byars here, because he had amazing talent and achieved many school records in his own right on his way to recording 1,764 yards and 24 touchdowns as well as a school record tying five touchdowns against Illinois. If it hadn’t been for Dough Flutie that same year, Byars would have walked away with the Heisman trophy.
4. Chris “Beanie” Wells: Beanie Wells was a large part of Ohio State going to the National Championship in 2006 and returning again, as well as helping to lead the Buckeyes to four straight wins against the Michigan Wolverines. Wells would finish his career with 5,566 yards rushing and 69 touchdowns. Wells had two chances to win the Heisman in his Ohio State career, but injuries hampered him from finishing off a good sophomore season.
5. Howard “Hopalong” Cassady: Considered a Buckeye legend and for good reason, Cassady would hold both the Ohio State scoring and rushing records for another eighteen years before they were finally surpassed by Pete Johnson and Archie Griffin respectively. The year that Cassady won the Heisman trophy he also set a record for the largest margin of victory until it was broken some twenty years later. I can only image the kind of records that Cassady would break today in the current offensive system.
Other Buckeye running backs of note
Robert Smith
Antonio Pittman
Raymont Harris
Sources Used
www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/
