Brett Ludwiczak
Guest
You’re Nuts: Who was your favorite Ohio State player to wear No. 4?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
With the Fourth of July being a time for celebration around the country to celebrate independence, today at Land-Grant Holy Land we are celebrating something a little different. Along with the holiday, we figured it would be a great time to celebrate the greats at Ohio State that have donned the number four, since it is the Fourth of July.
Currently, Julian Fleming wears number four for the Ohio State football team. Some of the Buckeyes to recently wear the number are Jordan Fuller and Curtis Samuel. Over on the hardwood, Baylor transfer Dale Bonner will be wearing four for the men’s basketball team, while Jacy Sheldon will be returning for the women’s basketball team after her 2022-23 was limited due to a leg injury.
There are plenty of other great players that have worn number four while wearing the scarlet and gray. Kirk Herbstreit, Ken-Yon Rambo, and Duane Washington Jr. are just a few of the Buckeyes that have found success in Columbus while wearing four. Today we want to know who your favorite number four for the Buckeyes is or was. While we mentioned football and basketball, bonus points go to those who have a favorite Ohio State four from a non-revenue sport.
Santonio Holmes will always be one of the Buckeyes I remember fondly since his final year at Ohio State was the first year I lived in Columbus after moving here from Western New York. Holmes had strong seasons in 2003 and 2004 for the Buckeyes, catching seven touchdowns in each of those seasons. The wide receiver from Florida was able to learn from Michael Jenkins as Jenkins’ college career ended after the 2003 season. Then when Holmes became Ohio State’s top receiver in 2004, he was able to pass along his knowledge to Ted Ginn Jr. in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
In the final year of his college career in 2005, Holmes caught 53 passes for 977 yards and 11 touchdowns. Even after Ohio State has thrown the football more over the last decade, Holmes is still prominent in the top 10 in the school’s receiving totals. The 140 career catches from Holmes ranks 10th, his 2,295 receiving yards rank eighth, and his 25 receiving touchdowns are the fifth-most in school history. It would be interesting to see what totals Holmes would put up if he had arrived in Columbus 10 or 15 years later than he did.
What I loved about Holmes is he seemed to do his best work in the biggest games. He scored touchdowns in wins over Michigan in 2004 and 2005. To close out his college career, in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, Holmes caught five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. And who could forget Super Bowl XLIII, where he made one of the best catches ever seen in the Super Bowl to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a lead late in the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Holmes would go on to earn Super Bowl MVP honors after scoring the game-winning touchdown.
Even though there have been many great receivers to play at Ohio State, Holmes will always be one that I will mention as one of the best Buckeye receivers of all time. There may be wide receivers that put up bigger numbers, but to me, Holmes is one of the receivers that always came up big when the spotlight was the brightest.
Your definition of a hero might vary, but to me, a hero is someone who puts his own body and physical well-being on the line, and there is no No. 4 that exemplifies that more than the man, the myth, the legend; Dr. Scrappy himself; the rosey-cheeked assassin, Dr. Aaron Vincent Craft.
Not since the days of Chris Jent was there a player that seemed to enjoy getting floor burns more than Craft. While guys like Andre Wesson and Kyle Young also come to mind in recent years, they all were living in the shadow of Dr. Aaron. Was he ever the most talented player on the court? Probably not, but his effort, energy, and intelligence made him an indispensable part of an incredibly important run in Ohio State men’s basketball history, not to mention the creation of the Ohio State alumni team — now known as Carmen’s Crew — in the annual TBT Tournament.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24771597/usa_today_7795015.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Michigan State at Ohio State")
Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
I feel like Craft is kind of the epitome of what it is to be an Ohio State fan. Everyone else absolutely hates you, even though deep down they wish you were on their team. He was feisty, he was dogged, he was annoying (all three things Ohio State fans have been accused of being), but he was ours. He did the little things that made his teams better.
Will Ohio State ever reach the heights of bluebloods like Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky on a regular basis, probably not. Similarly, Craft was never going to be the best point guard in the country. But he scratched and clawed as much as his body and talents would allow and, if he got the right combinations of shots in, he could take down Goliath. Such is the case for the OSU men’s basketball team.
It is also somewhat similar between the football team and the SEC squads like Alabama and Georgia which have inherent advantages given their geographical proximity to the top high school talent in the country, but the gap is much smaller on the gridiron than it is on the hardwood.
Nonetheless, Aaron Craft is, for all intents and purposes, the quintessential Buckeye. He enjoyed mixing it up with anyone and everyone, regardless of size and skill. He never backed down from a challenge — even in situations when he probably should have — but he also was immensely talented, and intelligent far beyond what most people think an athlete at his level of being capable of.
So, for me, with all due respect to Will Allen, Kurt Coleman, Jordan Fuller, Kirk Herbstreit, Sean McNeil, Ken-Yon Rambo, Curtis Samuel, Ray Small, Chris Vance, and others, Aaron Craft is by far my favorite No. 4 in Scarlet and Gray history.
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
With the Fourth of July being a time for celebration around the country to celebrate independence, today at Land-Grant Holy Land we are celebrating something a little different. Along with the holiday, we figured it would be a great time to celebrate the greats at Ohio State that have donned the number four, since it is the Fourth of July.
Currently, Julian Fleming wears number four for the Ohio State football team. Some of the Buckeyes to recently wear the number are Jordan Fuller and Curtis Samuel. Over on the hardwood, Baylor transfer Dale Bonner will be wearing four for the men’s basketball team, while Jacy Sheldon will be returning for the women’s basketball team after her 2022-23 was limited due to a leg injury.
There are plenty of other great players that have worn number four while wearing the scarlet and gray. Kirk Herbstreit, Ken-Yon Rambo, and Duane Washington Jr. are just a few of the Buckeyes that have found success in Columbus while wearing four. Today we want to know who your favorite number four for the Buckeyes is or was. While we mentioned football and basketball, bonus points go to those who have a favorite Ohio State four from a non-revenue sport.
Today’s question: Who was your favorite Ohio State player to wear number four?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes will always be one of the Buckeyes I remember fondly since his final year at Ohio State was the first year I lived in Columbus after moving here from Western New York. Holmes had strong seasons in 2003 and 2004 for the Buckeyes, catching seven touchdowns in each of those seasons. The wide receiver from Florida was able to learn from Michael Jenkins as Jenkins’ college career ended after the 2003 season. Then when Holmes became Ohio State’s top receiver in 2004, he was able to pass along his knowledge to Ted Ginn Jr. in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
In the final year of his college career in 2005, Holmes caught 53 passes for 977 yards and 11 touchdowns. Even after Ohio State has thrown the football more over the last decade, Holmes is still prominent in the top 10 in the school’s receiving totals. The 140 career catches from Holmes ranks 10th, his 2,295 receiving yards rank eighth, and his 25 receiving touchdowns are the fifth-most in school history. It would be interesting to see what totals Holmes would put up if he had arrived in Columbus 10 or 15 years later than he did.
What I loved about Holmes is he seemed to do his best work in the biggest games. He scored touchdowns in wins over Michigan in 2004 and 2005. To close out his college career, in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, Holmes caught five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. And who could forget Super Bowl XLIII, where he made one of the best catches ever seen in the Super Bowl to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a lead late in the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Holmes would go on to earn Super Bowl MVP honors after scoring the game-winning touchdown.
Even though there have been many great receivers to play at Ohio State, Holmes will always be one that I will mention as one of the best Buckeye receivers of all time. There may be wide receivers that put up bigger numbers, but to me, Holmes is one of the receivers that always came up big when the spotlight was the brightest.
Matt’s answer: Aaron Craft
Your definition of a hero might vary, but to me, a hero is someone who puts his own body and physical well-being on the line, and there is no No. 4 that exemplifies that more than the man, the myth, the legend; Dr. Scrappy himself; the rosey-cheeked assassin, Dr. Aaron Vincent Craft.
Not since the days of Chris Jent was there a player that seemed to enjoy getting floor burns more than Craft. While guys like Andre Wesson and Kyle Young also come to mind in recent years, they all were living in the shadow of Dr. Aaron. Was he ever the most talented player on the court? Probably not, but his effort, energy, and intelligence made him an indispensable part of an incredibly important run in Ohio State men’s basketball history, not to mention the creation of the Ohio State alumni team — now known as Carmen’s Crew — in the annual TBT Tournament.
I feel like Craft is kind of the epitome of what it is to be an Ohio State fan. Everyone else absolutely hates you, even though deep down they wish you were on their team. He was feisty, he was dogged, he was annoying (all three things Ohio State fans have been accused of being), but he was ours. He did the little things that made his teams better.
Will Ohio State ever reach the heights of bluebloods like Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky on a regular basis, probably not. Similarly, Craft was never going to be the best point guard in the country. But he scratched and clawed as much as his body and talents would allow and, if he got the right combinations of shots in, he could take down Goliath. Such is the case for the OSU men’s basketball team.
It is also somewhat similar between the football team and the SEC squads like Alabama and Georgia which have inherent advantages given their geographical proximity to the top high school talent in the country, but the gap is much smaller on the gridiron than it is on the hardwood.
Nonetheless, Aaron Craft is, for all intents and purposes, the quintessential Buckeye. He enjoyed mixing it up with anyone and everyone, regardless of size and skill. He never backed down from a challenge — even in situations when he probably should have — but he also was immensely talented, and intelligent far beyond what most people think an athlete at his level of being capable of.
So, for me, with all due respect to Will Allen, Kurt Coleman, Jordan Fuller, Kirk Herbstreit, Sean McNeil, Ken-Yon Rambo, Curtis Samuel, Ray Small, Chris Vance, and others, Aaron Craft is by far my favorite No. 4 in Scarlet and Gray history.
Continue reading...