USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from Ohio

When you think of the Buckeye State, you think of Ohio State football. There’s no getting around that. But that doesn’t mean the greatest college athletes from Ohio are all found on the gridiron in Columbus.

In fact, two of the most historic American athletes were Buckeyes that played golf and competed in track and field. Two all-time greats in men’s basketball spent their respective college careers at Cincinnati and Ohio State.

And there’s several other notable success stories to acknowledge when putting together our list of Ohio’s best. That means there were some significant omissions that surely will upset some fan bases. However, we could only include 10, so several worthy candidates were bound to be left out and inspire disappointment.

Nicklaus started his amazing trophy haul while at Ohio State, winning the U.S Amateur twice (1959 and 1961) and the 1961 NCAA Championship. Competing in the 1960 U.S. Open as an amateur, he finished second to Arnold Palmer. An honorable mention all-state shooting guard in high school, Nicklaus was being recruited to join the Buckeyes’ basketball class with Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek. So why golf over hoops? “I didn’t want to be ninth or tenth man,” he said. “I wanted golf, [where] I could be at the top of my game. But it was fun being recruited and fun playing against some of those guys, and through the high school years.” Eighteen majors later, smart choice.

Arguably the most important track athlete in history, “The Buckeye Bullet” set three world records and tied a fourth at the 1935 Big Ten Championships. The next season, he went undefeated in 42 events for Ohio State, won four NCAA titles. That year, Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics completely destroying Adolf Hitler’s notion of racial superiority right in front of him.

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The only player to win the Heisman Trophy twice, Griffin repeated as the nation’s top football player in 1974-75. He was the first player to lead the Big Ten in rushing three consecutive years and set an NCAA record for rushing yards (5,177) during his four-year career, which included four Rose Bowl starts.

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A member of the 1960 gold medal-winning Olympics team in Rome during time with the Bearcats, Robertson had an astonishing college career. He led the nation in scoring in each of his three seasons and was national player of the year three times. The award for the nation’s best player chosen by the USBWA was named after Robertson, who led the Bearcats to two Final Fours. He set 14 NCAA records during his time at Cincinnati.

PROGRAM RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12

After a slow start to college career, George broke through a junior with 1,442 yards and 12 touchdowns but he was just getting started. The 1995 Heisman Trophy winner, George rushed for 1,826 yards and a nation-leading 23 touchdowns as a senior. He also won the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Doak Walker awards that year, helping the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record.

The Big Ten’s only three-time player of the year, Lucas led the Buckeyes to three straight national finals, winning the 1960 title. He was named national player of the year twice and won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics. A dominant force inside, Lucas finished his career averaging 21.8 points and 17.8 rebounds per game and remains the school leader in career rebounds with 1,411.

Harper was the first MAC player to post 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career (finishing with 2,377 points and 1,119 rebounds — both program records). He also holds the RedHawks records for blocks and steals. Harper was a two-time MAC Player of the Year and an All-American as a senior in 1986 after averaging 24.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.3 steals a game.

Perhaps the most-dominant offensive lineman in modern college football, Pace was a two-time unanimous All-American, won the Lombardi Award twice and won the Outland Trophy in 1996. His dominance was so obvious, he was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Big Ten MVP and finished fourth in the Heisman voting.

A two-time All-American and three-time unanimous American Conference Player of the Year, Thompson led the nation in kills and points as a senior, and finished her career sixth on the NCAA’s all-time kills list. She helped the Bearcats become the first American Conference team to reach the Sweet 16 in 2019 and was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the Tokyo Olympics.

A three-time MAC Offensive Player of the Year, Ealey led the Rockets to three straight MAC championships, going 35-0 during his career (1969-71). He earned All-American honors as a senior and led Toledo to three Tangerine Bowl wins and three consecutive top-20 finishes. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Ealey threw for 4,824 yards in his career.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from Ohio