Carlos Hyde and the Not-So-Long-Ago Eddie George

*Carlos Hyde photo property of theozone.net, Eddie George photo property of menofthescarletandgray.com

Carlos Hyde is one of the best running backs we have ever had. He is 6-0/230; a little bigger than the average back in college. He is not the fastest, but Hyde is one of those players who can grind out a game for you. He did that for us last year, famously against Northwestern, but pretty much against every team he played. Watch these highlights to see what I mean. He was the go-to guy for a short touchdown when we needed it and for big plays.

He reminds me a lot of Eddie George, our 1995 Heisman winner who was of similar size (6-3/240). They were both big running backs who could just keep drives alive. Carlos is a little shorter and a little faster than Eddie, but they filled the same role for us. They would always fall forward to grab an extra yard or two, always seem to get us that first down, always keep the clock running, and just carry the offense when we needed it. Big running backs like this are a great asset to any team and they hearken back to the old days of football when it was more of a test of strength on the ground. Hopefully, Carlos will find as much success in the NFL, and in life, as Eddie has.

Eddie George was from Philadelphia and played for us from 1992 - 1995. He played under head coach John Cooper and with a ridiculous number of incredible teammates like Robert Smith, Dan Wilkinson, Korey Stringer, Orlando Pace, Shawn Springs and Mike Vrabel. He rushed for over 4,000 yards, was an All-American and won the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1995. His number is retired at OSU and he is the most recent Buckeye to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

George was drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers in 1996, before they moved to Tennessee and became the Titans. He became a staple of their offense, just like he had been in college. His best season came in 1999, when he helped lead the Titans to Superbowl XXXIV, a game they lost to the Rams. That was the season that included the Titans' "Music City Miracle" and the dramatic end of the Superbowl in which the Titans were one yard short of tying the game in the last play. George played his last season (2004) with the Dallas Cowboys. All in all, he rushed for over 10,000 yards in nine seasons in the NFL.

Since leaving football, he has remained active in the Nashville area, running a landscaping architecture business and performing as a Shakespearean actor. He has also worked as a football analyst and as Assistant VP for Business Development back at OSU. George had a difficult transition back to normal life after the NFL, battling depression and family problems. Having gone through the struggle himself, he is working on building a course at Ohio State that teaches business skills and life skills for athletes.

Ryan Shazier and a Look at Chris Spielman

*Photo of Shazier property of AP/Cleveland.com, photo of Spielman property of Sports Illustrated.

Ryan Shazier was our best defensive player in 2013. He was a first team All-American and led the Big Ten in tackles. He is going into the draft and will probably get picked toward the end of the first round or the beginning of the second. Shazier is 6-1/237 and had an incredible junior season last year. He is very athletic and has great vision. He has an ability to basically throw off the rhythm of an offense by getting to the quarterback, breaking up passes, tackling for loss and causing fumbles. He even has a pick-six. Shazier is one of those players that gets inside the heads of opposing players; they always seem to be watching him and running from him. He is reminiscent of the great Buckeye linebacker Chris Spielman.

Chris Spielman is from football-crazy Massillon, where they play at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. He was a Buckeye from 1984 - 1987 and was 6-0/247. He played under head coach Earle Bruce with greats like Kieth Byars, Cris Carter and Pepper Johnson. By the way, during Spielman's time at OSU, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer were assistant coaches. Spielman was an All-American for three years and one of the consistent players that made the 1980s Buckeyes so great. He was not the most athletic player, but was one of the hardest workers the Buckeyes have ever had. Here he is with a pick-six against Texas A&M in the 1987 Cotton Bowl. He is one of the 23 Buckeye players in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Spielman was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1988 and played in the Pro Bowl four times. He also played for the Bills and the Browns. In 1999, Spielman retired from football and began a career in broadcasting, working for ESPN, 97.1 The Fan, and Detroit's WXYT. He has devoted a huge amount of time to caring for his wife, who battled breast cancer from the 1990s until her death in 2009. Spielman was head coach of arena football's Columbus Destroyers in 2005. As Spielman's website shows, he is still a valuable source of insight into sports, and life in general.

Bradley Roby and Remembering Jack Tatum

*Bradley Roby photo from Springfield News-Sun, Jack Tatum photo from Sports Illustrated.

Bradley Roby is our most highly-touted player going into the draft this year. Although last season's defense had problems, Roby was one of the bright spots. He blocked a punt in the end zone against Northwestern, scoring a touchdown, and another one against Indiana. He had three interceptions; one of which was returned for a 63 yard touchdown:

Roby is a pretty amazing player and will likely be drafted in the first round. Although the game is different than it was 45 years ago, I can't think of Bradley Roby without thinking of Jack Tatum, the most feared player Ohio State has ever produced. Roby and Tatum both played cornerback for us, and Roby is 5'11/192 (a little undersized by today's standards) while Tatum was 6'0/205.

Tatum was from Passaic, NJ and was recruited as a running back. Back in the '60s, a lot of guys would still play offense and defense, but by his junior year, 1969, Tatum was only being used on defense because of the power of his hits. Sports Illustrated did a great article in 1969 before the Michigan game about how the best game to watch in the post season would have been OSU's offense vs. OSU's defense. According to Woody Hayes, this was the best team he ever coached. By 1970, Tatum's senior year, he had played in two Rose Bowls and won two National Championships. He was an All-American in 1969 and '70. Tatum was part of the best years of Buckeye football, and part of the genesis of the Ten Year War against Michigan.

In 1971, Jack Tatum was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders and moved from cornerback to free safety. He was outstanding in the NFL and the power of his tackles earned him the fear of receivers and running backs all over the league. With Ken Stabler at quarterback and their new coach John Madden (ever heard of him?), Tatum played for arguably the best team in the NFL and was an important part of what made them so good. The Raiders were division champions every year from 1972-1976 and won Superbowl XI in 1977. Tatum was the defender who smashed into Steelers receiver John Fuqua, contributing to 1972's Immaculate Reception. Tatum faced a lot of criticism for his hard hits, one of which paralyzed another player for life, but always maintained that he played fairly. He was in the Pro Bowl in '73, '74 and '75.

In 1980, Jack Tatum released a book, They Call Me Assassin, which details his youth in North Carolina and New Jersey, and his high school, college and professional playing days. The most interesting part is his description of the transition from college to NFL play, where he had to work harder and improve his wits considerably just to be able to compete. He discusses his method of hitting hard, basically aiming for a spot behind an opponent and channeling all of his body weight to go "through" the other player. He used to use a method called the "hook," which is now illegal; it involved bracing the arm to hit an opponent's head to take them out. Tatum would have contests with other players for the most hits that caused stoppages of play. It is an interesting read from a different time in football. The aggressive style used by Tatum and others in the 1970s and '80s are the roots of the safety concerns in football today.

All things considered, Tatum was a great asset to any team he played on including our beloved Ohio State Buckeyes. He died in 2010 at the age of 61. The NFL ranked him as one of the most feared players of all time: