[Buckeye86]

A combination of reading Ohio State books I received for Christmas and watching Penn State in their bowl game tonight has inspired me to do a comparison between linebackers from both schools.

Ohio State players in scarlet
Penn State players in blue

Total Tackles - Career

1. 572 Marcus Marek '79-'82
2. 569 Tom Cousineau '75-'78
3. 546 Chris Spielman '84-'87
4. 408 Steve Tovar '89-'92
5. 394 A.J. Hawk '02-'05
6. 379 Pepper Johnson '82-'85
7. 372 Paul Pusluszny '03-'06
8. 345 Alvin Washington '77-'80
9. 343 Greg Buttle '73-'75
10. 338 Ed Thompson '74-'76
11. 336 Glen Cobb '79-'82
12. 331 Mike Doss '99-'02
13. 320 Randy Gradishar '71-'73
14. 316 Kelton Dansler '75-'78
15. 315 Brian Gelzheiser '91-'94

Total Tackles - Season

1. 211 Tom Cousineau '78
2. 205 Chris Spielman '86
3. 178 Marcus Marek '82
4. 172 David Adkins '77
5. 165 Greg Buttle '74
6. 156 Chris Spielman '87
156 Rowland Tatum '83
7. 149 Ed Thompson '76
8. 148 Marcus Marek '81
9. 147 Tom Cousineau '76
10. 146 Alvin Washington '78
__________________

Linebackers Drafted (from 1970)
(Selection #)

First Round (8,3)
(1) Tom Cousineau '79
(2) LaVar Arrington '00
(5) A.J. Hawk '06
(8) Shane Conlan '87
(8) Ed O'Neil '74
(13) Rick Middleton '74
(14) Randy Gradishar '74
(18) Bobby Carpenter '06
(23) Bob Brudzinski '77
(28) Andy Katzenmoyer '99
(30) Craig Powell '95

Second Round (2,7)
(27) Doug Allen '74
(29) Chris Spielman '88
(33) Paul Posluszny '07
(34) Mark D'Onofrio '92
(34) Scott Radecic '84
(34) Jack Ham '71
(43) Matt Millen '80
(46) Andre Collins '90
(51) Pepper Johnson '86

Third Round (4,8)
(59) Steve Tovar '93
(67) Greg Buttle '76
(69) Lance Mehl '80
(71) Jim Laslavic '73
(72) Dennis Onkotz '70
(73) Walker Lee Ashley '83
(74) Terry Killens '96
(76) Anthony Schlegel '06
(77) Lorenzo Styles '95
(78) Kurt Allerman '77
(83) Keith Goganious '92
(86) Cie Grant '03

Fourth Round (6,4)
(84) Don Graham '87
(86) Al Washington '81
(91) Jim Laughlin '80
(98) Na'il Diggs '00
(98) John Ebersole '70
(100) Bruce Elia '75
(105) Anthony Griggs '82
(105) Brandon Short '00
(105) Rogers Alexander '86
(112) Matt Wilhelm '03

Fifth Round (3,5)
(114) Ron Crosby '77
(116) Bruce Bannon '73
(119) Jim Cope '75
(146) Phil Yeboah-Kodie '95
(148) Larry Kubin '81
(164) Tim Shaw '07
(165) Rob Reynolds '04
(167) Courtland Bullard '02

Sixth Round (1,5)
(136) John Skorupan '73
(152) Chet Parlavecchio '82
(153) Rich McKenzie '93
(155) Quintus McDonald '89
(180) Eric Ravotti '94
(189) Matt Finkes '97

Seventh Round (3,3)
(165) Doug Adams '71
(170) Chris Devlin '75
(176) Byron Lee '86
(182) Rich Milot '79
(193) Larry Kolic '86
(217) Rob Holmberg '94

Eighth Round (0,2)
(209) Andre Powell '92
(213) Reggie Givens '93

Ninth Round (1,1)
(234) Scott Leach '87
(247) Bob Ontko '87

Tenth Round (1,1)
(252) Aaron Brown '78
(267) Tom DePaso '78

Eleventh Round (0,1)
(282) Keith Karpinski '89

Twelfth Round (1,1)
(294) Tom Hull '74
(304) Vic Koegel '74

Seventeenth Round (1,1)
(421) Dave Graf '75
(438) Stan White '72
___________________

Total Drafted Since 1970
Ohio State: 31
Penn State: 42

Total Drafted Since 1985
Ohio State: 18
Penn State: 20

Total Drafted Since 1995
Ohio State: 12
Penn State: 6


First thing that jumps out is how much better Ohio State players' numbers were during their college careers. Clear advantage to Ohio State there.

On the other hand, Penn State has had more linebackers drafted since 1970 and it is easy to see how they earned the nickname "Linebacker U".

At the same time, it's easy to see that the pendulum is swinging Ohio State's way as far as recent talent at the linebacker position.

With Dan Connor, James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman soon to be entering the draft these numbers should change again soon. It will be interesting to see which school has more linebackers drafted in the near future.

No matter what happens, it is an interesting debate, but I think it's clear that Ohio State has made a strong case for the title "Linebacker U" over the years and that case should only get stronger in the near future.



(p.s. I have too much time on my hands)