On the list of all-time great running backs at Ohio State, this name gets overlooked a lot, surprisingly. But #41 Keith Byars stood alone. On one shoe sometimes.
But then, when you have a history of incredible backs like we do at the Shoe, it's forgivable. After all, there's WAY too many great names on that list! Hell, four Heisman Trophies belong to running backs on this list!
Here's the list of all-time rushing leaders at Ohio State, and their total yardage on the ground;
1. Archie Griffin - 5,529 yards
2. Eddie George - 3,768 yards
3. Tim Spencer - 3,553 yards
4. Keith Byars - 3,200 yards
5. Pepe Pearson - 3,121 yards
6. Carlos Snow - 2,974 yards
7. Michael Wiley - 2,951 yards
8. Antonio Pittman - 2,945 yards
9. Raymont Harris - 2,649 yards
10. Calvin Murray - 2,576 yards
11. Jim Otis - 2,542 yards
12. Howard Cassady - 2,466 yards
13. Jonathan Wells - 2,381 yards
14. Lydell Ross - 2,339 yards
15. Pete Johnson - 2,308 yards
16. Chris Wells - 2,185 yards
17. Bob Ferguson - 2,162 yards
18. Ron Springs - 2,140 yards
19. Don Clark - 2,116 yards
20. Cornelius Greene - 2,066 yards
2 comments:
Sad to think that Keith Byars is a Doug Flutie and a foot injury away from possibly two Heismans. And now, with the current generation of Buckeye fans, he lives in a kind of obscurity.
I once boarded a plane in Chicago, sat next to a big guy in his 50s. He took one look at my OSU ball cap and scoffed, said, "Oh No." I asked him what he had against OSU. He told me he was a Defensive End for Purdue, until he lined up across the line of scrimmage from Keith Byars. Keith Byars ran right at the Purdue defensive end. The defensive end tried to tackle Byars. Didn't work. The defensive end blew his knee out on that very play while trying to tackle Byars, and never played a game of football again.
"Well," I said, "Did Purdue at least win the game?"
Purdue lost on a last second Buckeye field goal.
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