Who Is the Greatest Buckeye Tight End?

[LordJeffBuck]

Welcome to the sixth installment of the "Greatest Buckeyes Ever" poll - this one allows you to vote for the best Buckeye tight end. Every Saturday, we will post a poll on "Who's the Greatest Buckeye" at each of the positions. The last poll, head coach, will open on the day of THE GAME, and close on December 30th. By New Years Day, we will have the Buckeye Planet All-Time Buckeye Team.

All players selected for the poll will be from the "modern era", which we have more-or-less arbitrarily determined to have begun with the hiring of Woody Hayes in 1951. However, there will be a special poll for the older Buckeye stars, where you will be allowed to choose amongst such greats as Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, Chic Harley, etc.

Please vote on each poll, if you can. Also, please note that each poll will allow you to vote at least twice, as we would like to compile a first and second team. If you vote for "other", please let us know your selection(s) by setting forth the name(s) in a post.

Polls will be posted as follows:

1. Quarterback (OPEN - Rex Kern leads, with Craig Krenzel, Art Schlichter, and Joe Germain vying for second place)
2. Tailback (OPEN - Archie and Eddie lead)
3. Athlete (OPEN - Paul Warfield and Chris Gamble lead)
4. Fullback (OPEN - Pete Johnson and Jim Otis lead)
5. Wide Receiver (OPEN - Cris Carter and David Boston lead, with Jenkins, Galloway, and Glenn vying for third and fourth place)
6. Tight End (OPEN)
7. Offensive Tackle
8. Offensive Guard
9. Offensive Center
10. Defensive Tackle
11. Defensive End
12. Outside Linebacker
13. Middle Linebacker
14. Safety
15. Cornerback
16. Kicker
17. Punter
18. "Old Timer"
19. Head Coach

So, please vote now for your All-Time Greatest Buckeye Tight Ends; please make TWO selections.

Thanks for your participation.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Some random thoughts:

-John Frank
'83 team MVP and Co-Captain(only TE named MVP in OSU history)
#6 all time in OSU career receptions
#12 all time in OSU career yardage
Has 2 of the top 20 single season reception marks in OSU history

-Jan White
OSU's leading reciever two years in a row ('69&'70).
Co-Captain in '70 as well as All-American(only OSU TE named AA).

-Think Woody liked to run a bit? Fred Pagac SR led the '73 team in receptions with 9!!!

-Hartsock is still fresh in everyones memory and he was very,very good so I am sure he will get a lot of votes as will Dudley. If you are only going by someone you remember seeing then both Ellis and Lumpkin are better statistically than these two.

Here are how the TE's stack up against each other in OSU history-note that only Frank's numbers stack up against WR's:

Pass Reception Yards by a Tight End - Career
1,481 John Frank 121 receptions .. 1980-83
967 Bruce Jankowski 66 receptions .... 1968-70
863 Jeff Ellis 70 receptions .... 1987-91
853 Cedric Saunders 68 receptions .... 1990-93
762 Jan White 61 receptions .... 1968-70
759 Charles Bryant 43 receptions .... 1959-61
757 John Lumpkin 46 receptions .... 1996-98
755 Robert Grimes 50 receptions .... 1950-52
720 Robert Joslin 54 receptions .... 1951-53
681 Rickey Dudley 46 receptions .... 1994-95

Pass Reception by a Tight End - Career
121 John Frank 1,481 yards ...... 1980-83
108 Billy Anders 1,218 yards ...... 1965-67
70 Jeff Ellis 863 yards ......... 1987-89
68 Cedric Saunders 853 yards ......... 1990-93
66 Bruce Jankowski 967 yards ......... 1968-70
61 Jan White 762 yards ......... 1968-70
58 Ben Hartsock 519 yards ......... 1999-03
57 Ed Taggart 575 yards ......... 1984-86
54 Robert Joslin 720 yards ......... 1951-53
50 Robert Grimes 755 yards ......... 1950-52


Touchdown Receptions by a Tight End - Career
10 John Lumpkin 1996-98
9 Rickey Dudley 1994-95
9 Chrles Bryant 1959-61
9 Darnell Sanders 1999-01
8 Jan White 1968-70
8 Robert Grimes 1950-52
6 Billy Anders 1965-67
5 Robert Joslin 1951-53
5 Ben Hartsock 1999-03
5 Ralph Armstrong 1949-51
5 Jeff Ellis 1987-91
5 Brad Dwelle 1979-81


All things considerd-I just can't see a very convincing argument for anyone other than Frank and White (in that order).

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Nice analysis, Jax. One comment, though - Jack Park lists Bruce Jankowski (6', 188 lbs) as a split end, so I kept him off of this list. He was a good player, however (one of the "Super Sophs", along with Jan White).

 

[OSU5NC]

One thing you really can't measure in statistics is blocking ability. I think that's where Hartsock has the edge on guys like Dudley and Lumpkin. It's harder for me, since I haven't seen a lot of these guys like Frank play.

 

[Jaxbuck]

LJB,
I had some questions about Billy Anders after I posted that. Those stats are from the official site and he shows up in career receptions list but not career yardage list. If this stat line is correct:

108 Billy Anders 1,218 yards ...... 1965-67


He should be the second most prolific TE in OSU history behind only Frank. He is also listed as a team Captain in '67. It was before my time so I have to rely on Jack Park to clear it up and he dosen't mention the guy.

If he was a TE, voted a Captain and caught 108 passes for 1,218 yds in his career he is certainly worthy of consideration.

The one thats bugging me on here is Ricky Dudley, the guy caught 46 balls in his career at OSU during probably the most prolific passing era's ever!!

Go a bit past a big name you remember from 10 years ago folks, its ok to vote for players that were before your time. Just go look up who has done what and you will see a lot of guys from the 60's and 70's deserving of all time status. I am 33 years old and John Frank is honestly just at the earliest of my memories of OSU so I don't have a crystal clear image of the guy at all. One quick glance through the record books however leaves little doubt he is the best TE all time at OSU.

Dudley,on the other hand, is about the least deserving guy on that list imo.



EDIT**** Jack Park mentions Billy Anders quite a bit for the '66 season-I was only looking at '67. However he only refers to him as an "end". Anders is listed with the TE's in career yardage and TD's but not for career receptions as a TE. If someone who remembers, could clear this up I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[osugrad21]

Frank and Hartsock for me...

 

[3yardsandacloud]

Same for me 21, great minds ...

 

[LoKyBuckeye]

I guess I'm half as smart as you guys... :p

Frank and then White for me.

:)

 

[vrbryant]

In two years it'll be Ryan Hamby. He'll probably top that TD list, and could easily make a push for leading the other two. He's already got 20 catches for 219 yards and 4 TDs. Even if he never surpasses last year's numbers (an absurdly conservative estimate), he'll finish with 56 catches for just under 600 yards and 10 TDs. Any arguments?

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

White and Frank.

 

[BB73]

I went with Frank, then White.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

bump

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Bump

 

[powerlifter]

One thing you cant measure is the competition they have played against. It is very true that people tend to pick people that are "fresh" in our minds,but at the same time the competition today is much better then prior years imo. A lot of people disagree with that some don't.