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This is always tough, but from my lifetime/memory (about 1995-present)

QB: 2014 with JT, CJ, and Braxton - I know Braxton was hurt, but that is the most talent in the QB room we've had. Next on my list would be when we had Troy Smith and Zwick.

RB: 2014 with Zeke, Rod Smith, Curtis Samuel, Jalin Marshall, Bri'onte Dunn, Warren Ball, Dontre Wilson - This one is tough because Zeke is the best from my lifetime (Eddie as a close second, then Beanie), but hardly anyone else got carries because he was so good and some of these were closer to receivers than RBs..but this group is just stacked. In terms of 1-2 punch, JK and Weber are fantastic, as was Beanie and Pittman.

WR: 2005 with Ginn, Holmes, Gonzo, Roy Hall, and Robiskie...this one was a pretty easy one for me. 2014 with Michael Thomas, Devin Smith, Evan Spencer, Corey Smith, Noah Brown, Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell is pretty amazing.

TE: 2002 with Hartsock and Hamby. Also, 2012 with Heuerman, Stoneburner, and Vannett.

OL: 1994 with Stringer, Pace and Gholston...the 2002 championship team had an incredible OL as well and 2015 was right there.

DL: Tossup was between 2002 and 2017. 2017, depth was insane and there's going to be non-stop draft picks from that DL. But I think I give it to 2002, particularly with that championship performance in absolutely destroying Miami's vaunted OL...Will Smith, Kenny Peterson, Darrion Scott, Tim Anderson, Simon Fraser, Mike Kudla, Jay Richardson...damn they were good.

LB: 2005 with Hawk, Carpenter, Schlegel, Marcus Freeman and Lil Animal. Forgot Freeman was in there, definitely puts it over the top for me. We have had some truly amazing LB corps in my lifetime, but this crew was as overwhelmingly good as I have seen from any position group.

DB: 1998, unreal talent. 2016 right on its heals of course.

Punter/Kicker: 2002, Mike Nugent and Andy Groom.
Forgot special teams... Yes, 2002 without Question with Nuge and Andy.

The one I really struggled with was the DL because you're right the 2002 group was just so good.

I give Tressel credit for the LB recruiting though because he really has had some talent there. IMO, this is where we need to step things up a tad (literally the only position) because we just have been missing those sound and sure tackling LBs the past few years. We've had some Talent like Shazier, Lee, Raekwon, Baker and Perry but that's nothing like the crews we've had through the 2000s.
 
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Forgot special teams... Yes, 2002 without Question with Nuge and Andy.

The one I really struggled with was the DL because you're right the 2002 group was just so good.

I give Tressel credit for the LB recruiting though because he really has had some talent there. IMO, this is where we need to step things up a tad (literally the only position) because we just have been missing those sound and sure tackling LBs the past few years. We've had some Talent like Shazier, Lee, Raekwon, Baker and Perry but that's nothing like the crews we've had through the 2000s.

You want sure, sound tackling LB's look at the 80's. Different game then, LB was a semi Cadillac position of it's own. Marek, Pepper Johnson, Speilman...good lord
 
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QB - 2015
RB - 2013 (Hyde and Zeke plus a pretty good Jordan Hall)
WR - 2005 (3 1st rounders. Nuff said)
TE - 2002 or 2013? Not sure
OL - 2013 (It boggles my mind that even diehard buckeyes forget how loaded this unit was. 4(!) future NFL starting OL started on that OL that year, plus a solid Marcus Hall, and a budding star in Elflein and a future one in Price. They dominated that year too with over 300 rush ypg.)
DL - 2002, followed closely by 2009
LB - 2005
DB - 2016 (they are as close to being objectively the greatest as can be. 3 1st round picks that following draft, and a pseudo-starter who would be a top 5 pick the next year)
ST - 2004 (Nuge, Ginn, and Holmes. Is this even a question?)
 
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Starting with John Cooper's run dating back to the late 1980s, Ohio State's ability to consistently attract elite talent through the eras of Coop, Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell, Urban Meyer and Ryan Day is arguably the greatest run assembling talent by any program in the country.

In fact, dating back to the 1992 NFL Draft, which marked the first year Cooper had players eligible to be drafted following his first real recruiting class (1989), the Buckeyes boast 180 total draft picks. That tally includes 68 selections within the first two rounds and 47 first rounders.

With all that talent to choose from, I thought it would be fun to assemble a starting lineup on both sides of the ball, with the caveat that the selections must be somewhat evenly dispersed based on the tenure of each head coach.

Today, we'll focus solely on the starting 11 on offense.

Considering the tenure lengths of Cooper (13 years), Tressel (10) and Meyer (7) over the 32-year span, Coop gets four spots, Tressel three and Meyer two.

Since Fickell led the program for just one year (2011) and Day is only one year into his tenure, I decided the starting lineup could only feature one starter from each of those seasons. That makes Urban's two spots feel a a little light but I wanted starters from each head coach represented while still accounting for Cooper's tenure being nearly twice as long as Meyer's.

Before I get to the selections, here's a glance at the guys I felt were most deserving of discussion.

final%20offensive%20candidates.jpg


THE FINAL TALLY

final%20offense.jpg
 
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Starting with John Cooper's run dating back to the late 1980s, Ohio State's ability to consistently attract elite talent through the eras of Coop, Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell, Urban Meyer and Ryan Day is arguably the greatest run assembling talent by any program in the country.

In fact, dating back to the 1992 NFL Draft, which marked the first year Cooper had players eligible to be drafted following his first real recruiting class (1989), the Buckeyes boast 180 total draft picks. That tally includes 68 selections within the first two rounds and 47 first rounders.

With all that talent to choose from, I thought it would be fun to assemble a starting lineup on both sides of the ball, with the caveat that the selections must be somewhat evenly dispersed based on the tenure of each head coach.

Considering the tenure lengths of Cooper (13 years), Tressel (10) and Meyer (7) over the 32-year span, Coop gets four spots, Tressel three and Meyer two.

Since Fickell led the program for just one year (2011) and Day is only one year into his tenure, I decided the starting lineup could only feature one starter from each of those seasons. That makes Urban's two spots feel a a little light but I wanted starters from each head coach represented while still accounting for Cooper's tenure being nearly twice as long as Meyer's.

After selecting a starting offense last week, focus now shifts to the defense.

Before I get to the selections, here's a glance at the guys I felt were most deserving of discussion. Picking 11 silver bullets proved a little more difficult than selecting the offense.

defensivecandidates.png


THE FINAL TALLY

FINALDEF.jpg
 
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Starting with John Cooper's run dating back to the late 1980s, Ohio State's ability to consistently attract elite talent through the eras of Coop, Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell, Urban Meyer and Ryan Day is arguably the greatest run assembling talent by any program in the country.

In fact, dating back to the 1992 NFL Draft, which marked the first year Cooper had players eligible to be drafted following his first real recruiting class (1989), the Buckeyes boast 180 total draft picks. That tally includes 68 selections within the first two rounds and 47 first rounders.

With all that talent to choose from, I thought it would be fun to assemble a starting lineup on both sides of the ball, with the caveat that the selections must be somewhat evenly dispersed based on the tenure of each head coach.

Considering the tenure lengths of Cooper (13 years), Tressel (10) and Meyer (7) over the 32-year span, Coop gets four spots, Tressel three and Meyer two.

Since Fickell led the program for just one year (2011) and Day is only one year into his tenure, I decided the starting lineup could only feature one starter from each of those seasons. That makes Urban's two spots feel a a little light but I wanted starters from each head coach represented while still accounting for Cooper's tenure being nearly twice as long as Meyer's.

After selecting a starting offense last week, focus now shifts to the defense.

Before I get to the selections, here's a glance at the guys I felt were most deserving of discussion. Picking 11 silver bullets proved a little more difficult than selecting the offense.

defensivecandidates.png


THE FINAL TALLY

FINALDEF.jpg


Even a 2020 Ohio State offense that realized their full potential would have serious issues trying to move the ball against that defense.
 
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Maybe it's the Covid fog, but I just don't get the methodology. Who cares about the an even distribution based on the tenure of the coaches? What? Why would that even occur to someone as a evaluation parameter? If the idea is to select the best team Post-Bruce, the players are all there, why have to include more Cooper players just because we let him hang around and lose to the Vulvarenes for 11 of 13 seasons?
 
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Maybe it's the Covid fog, but I just don't get the methodology. Who cares about the an even distribution based on the tenure of the coaches? What? Why would that even occur to someone as a evaluation parameter? If the idea is to select the best team Post-Bruce, the players are all there, why have to include more Cooper players just because we let him hang around and lose to the Vulvarenes for 11 of 13 seasons?

Totally agree with your point, though "too many Cooper players" isn't why.

IMHO the best way to improve the team they came up with (using a post-Bruce player) is to dump Jenkins for Shawn Springs, a Cooper player.
 
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Springs was absolutely lock down in college. I love Winfield, but Shawn Springs was the fuckin truth in coverage. I get why the author made the choices he did in terms of roster fulfillment and, again, I would take Winfield on the field in a heart beat as well. As between Jenkins and Springs, though, I'll take Springs. That's no slight to Malcom, to be clear.
 
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