The 2015 college football kickoff just 45 days away, we continue our countdown with Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, perhaps the greatest number 45 ever.
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From 1972-75, there probably wasn’t a better college football player, running back or athlete in the nation than Ohio State’s Archie Griffin. Beyond his ability on the field, Griffin was also a model citizen and a first class ambassador for the Buckeyes.
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The late Woody Hayes said of Griffin, “He’s a better young man than he is a football player, and he’s the best football player I’ve ever seen.”
Griffin was the first freshman to play on a Ohio State varsity team, and he finished that season with 867 yards and three touchdowns to lead the team in rushing. But it was his second year in Columbus that Griffin really grabbed the spotlight and showed the nation what he could do.
Running in the Buckeye’s vaunted I-formation, Griffin rushed for 1,577 yards and seven touchdowns, once again leading the way for the Buckeyes and the Big Ten. He finished fifth in the Heisman voting that season, which was the lowest he’d ever see in that tally.
His junior and senior seasons — 1,695 and 1,450 yards rushing respectively — gave him the Big Ten lead in rushing for the third straight season, and put him in a class of college football player yet to be matched. Griffin won the Heisman Trophy both seasons and is still the only player to win the award more than once.
Griffin’s number 45 was retired by Ohio State in 1999, and he is undoubtedly one of the greatest college football players of this century.
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