Since we are already in the final stretch of the college football offseason, ranking lists are at their peak. ESPN ranked college football’s best by jersey number, and, as expected, they came up with a killer list. As usual, Ohio State completely ran the conversation.

Word is, there are nine Buckeyes who made it to ESPN’s list. Here are the names.

1. No. 9 – Joe Burrow: (Ohio State/ LSU Tigers)

Yeah, we all know his legendary peak happened down South. But Burrow actually spent three years sharpening his irons at Columbus before transferring. When he finally got his shot at LSU in 2019, he put together what is widely called the greatest single-season a college QB has ever played. The Bengals QB went off for 5,671 passing yards and a ridiculous 60 passing touchdowns with only six picks. He easily took home the Heisman Trophy and capped it all off with an undefeated national championship. Even though he’s not seen as the Buckeye QB, you can’t take three years of Columbus out of Joe Burrow’s DNA.

2. No. 27 — Eddie George (RB)

Eddie George was the street definition of Ohio State’s old-school, smash-mouth football. In 1995, George rushed 328 times for 1,927 yards and 24 TDs, which is a school record that still stands. He was so incredibly consistent that he rushed for over 100 yards in 12 straight games that year, 148.2 rushing yards per game.

No wonder he won the Heisman that year and ended his illustrious college football career with 3,578 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns.

3. No. 31 – Vic Janowicz (HB)

Woody Hayes loved Janowicz so much because there isn’t any offensive position on the field that he couldn’t play. Janowicz was one of the OG do-it-all superstars back in the 1950s, good old single-wing days. He basically never left the field because he could run, pass, punt, and play other sorts of positions like placekicker. His versatility was rare for the era.

To show you how diabolic his skillset was, during an 83-21 blowout against Iowa in his 1950 Heisman year, he threw for 4 touchdowns, ran another two in (including a 61-yard punt return), and kicked 10 extra points all by himself, in one night.

4. No. 36 – Chris Spielman (LB)

If you look up ‘intense linebacker’ in the dictionary, Spielman’s picture should be right there. Ohio State had produced tons of first-round linebackers; all of them wish they hit as hard as Spielman. By the time he left the Buckeyes for a career in the NFL, he had 546 career tackles, pretty good for third all-time in school history. He’s a three-time All-American and the 1987 Lombardi Award winner.

Of all his achievements, none of them come close to his performance against Michigan in the 1986 Michigan game. Chris single-handedly recorded a school-record 29 total tackles against the Wolverines. No Buckeye linebacker came close to beating that record. The NCAA inducted him into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

5. No. 40 – Howard “Hopalong” Cassady (HB)

Cassady won the 1955 Heisman by record margin, rushing for 958 yards and 15 scores. He left Ohio State with a national title ring, 2,466 rushing yards under legendary Woody Hayes. Once his college days finally got over, he decided to work for the Yankees for almost 30 years. Almost half a century later, Ohio State gave him the ultimate honor, retiring his jersey number in 2000.

6. No. 45 – Archie Griffin (RB)

Archie is in a club of his own, and literally nobody else in college football history is allowed inside. To this day, Griffin remains the player to win the Heisman twice. One in 1974 and another in 1975. He was an absolute machine of consistency, setting an NCAA record by rushing for 100+ yards in 31 consecutive games. By the time he was done and hung up his cleats, he had piled 5,589 career rushing yards, a school record that still stands today, 50 years later.

7. No. 53  – Randy Gradishar (LB)

Coach Woody Hayes didn’t throw around compliments lightly. But he flat-out called Gradishar “the best linebacker I ever coached.” That’s very telling. He’s a three-time All-American and three-time first-team All-Big Ten. When all was said and done, he had 320 total tackles and led the Buckeyes to two straight Rose Bowls. A couple of years ago, Gradishar finally got into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

8. No. 74 – John Hicks (OT)

Archie Griffin wouldn’t have won a second Heisman without John Hicks. In 1973, he had what many consider the best season an offensive lineman has ever put together. He became the first man to ever win the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award in the same season. He was so dominant that he actually finished second in the overall Heisman voting. Something that’s not possible for linemen in today’s day and age of college football.

9 – No. 75 – Orlando Pace (OL)

Even though folks acknowledge Orlando Pace, He doesn’t receive enough recognition for his impact. After all, he changed how the position was evaluated. He was so incredibly athletic for his size that Ohio State’s media team literally had to start tracking “pancake blocks” as an official stat because he was flattening guys so much (he had 80 of them in back-to-back years). He is still the only player ever to win the Lombardi Award twice, and he finished fourth in the 1996 Heisman race before going No. 1 overall in the NFL draft.