I grew up hearing about Rex Kern, Les Horvath, Chic Harley, Vic Janowitz and Archie Griffin. I grew up watching Chris Spielman, Eddie George, Orlando Pace and Keith Byars. And when I become an actual adult and have my own children to spew my Buckeye bias on, I’ll tell them about Troy Smith – the greatest Buckeye of them all.
I know what you’re thinking: What the hell do I know? It’s easy to claim the latest and greatest as the best of all time. Harley’s dominance led to the erection of Ohio Stadium. Griffin won two Heisman Trophies and skewered Michigan on several occasions on his way to four Rose Bowls. Pace is perhaps the finest lineman ever to play college football.
But Troy Smith is a quarterback – an Ohio State quarterback, no less – who dominates games not only with his laser-rocket arm or his Robin Hood-like accuracy, but also with his incredible aura. When Smith lines up behind Doug Datish, the Buckeyes can’t lose, and everyone knows it. In a century of OSU football, nobody has ever been able to make the same claim, bar none.
So move over just a tad, Archie. Your two Heismans might make you the eternal face of Buckeyes football, but Smith’s one at quarterback makes him the greatest of all-time. And by the way, watch out, Gators. When your coach, Urban Meyer, campaigned so vehemently to get Florida to the National Championship Game, I don’t think he knew what he was getting into. Buckeye legends might not be few and far between, but this one is truly special.
