Greatest college football player born in each state
It’s is incredibly difficult to select the greatest Ohio native to ever play college football. And, this is probably going to make a lot of Ohio State fans mad, especially since former Buckeye running back Archie Griffin is the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in college football history and Orlando Pace is arguably the greatest offensive lineman to ever play the game (unbelievably, Pace finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1996!).
Plus, Navy’s Roger Staubach was voted the first-team quarterback on the FWAA 75th Anniversary team, but our nod for the greatest college football player born in the state of Ohio goes to a Michigan man – Charles Woodson.
Ohio has produced the second most Heisman Trophy winners of any state in the nation behind only California, and perhaps the most impressive of the bunch was Woodson’s, which the cornerback earned over Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf, Randy Moss, and Ricky Williams in 1997.
That season, Woodson intercepted seven passes for the national champion Wolverines, which brought his career total to 16 picks. He also caught 11 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a both a TD run and a punt return in one of the most well-rounded seasons ever for a college football player – and arguably the best all-around performance of the last half century.
Other Notable College Football Players Born in Ohio:
- Dave Brown, DB, Michigan
- Howard Cassady, HB, Ohio State
- Randy Gradishar, LB, Ohio State
- Archie Griffin, RB, Ohio State
- John Hicks, OL, Ohio State
- Desmond Howard, WR, Michigan
- Vic Janowicz, HB, Ohio State
- Luke Kuechley, LB, Boston College
- Orlando Pace, OL, Ohio State
- Jim Richter, OL, N.C. State
- Chris Spielman, LB, Ohio State
- Roger Staubach, QB, Navy
Next: Oklahoma