7 days until kickoff! That means it’s time for another edition of The Men Behind the Numbers. 1 week from today, we will be watching the Buckeyes decimate Ball State. The number 7 carries a ton of history at Ohio State, and for that reason we are going to highlight 4 players today. Cornelius Greene, Joey Galloway, Chris Gamble, and Ted Ginn Jr. all left their marks on Ohio State while wearing the illustrious number 7.
Cornelius Greene became the first African-American starting QB at OSU in 1973, his sophomore season. He would lead the team to a 10-0-1 record that season, finishing with a Rose Bowl win. The following season he would be named an All-American and eek out the team MVP vote by one single vote over Archie Griffin. Greene would finish his time in Columbus with 4 Big Ten Championships (3 as the starter), 4 Rose Bowls, and a 31-3-1 record. He was inducted into both the OSU and Rose Bowl Hall of Fames.
Joey Galloway would come to OSU from Bellaire, Ohio. He will always be remembered as one of the fastest OSU receivers ever. He would lead the team in receiving in both 1993 and 1994. He would be a 2-time All Big Ten Honoree, including a first team nod in 1993. Galloway is another one of those guys that played in a pretty run heavy offense ( some guy named Eddie George was there during his tenure) yet showed enough to leave his mark. He would be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 8th overall pick in 1995. He would have a 16 year NFL career with stops in Dallas, Tampa Bay, New England, Pittsburgh (never played a game there) , and Washington where he would end his career. Urban Meyer once said “ there’s fast and there’s fast-fast", well Joey Galloway was fast-fast and it translated to football speed.
Chris Gamble was a jack of all trades at OSU. Gamble would play receiver, corner, and returner often in the same game. You could say he was Travis Hunter, before Travis Hunter. Gamble was an key part of the 2002 National Championship team. His pick 6 in the Penn State game that season is one of those plays that ranks right there with 85 yards through the heart of the south, for me at least. But, there’s another play he will always be remembered for. Gamble was the intended receiver in the Fiesta Bowl on the play where Glenn Sharpe would be flagged for pass interference ( it should have been holding), allowing the game to continue and the Buckeyes would eventually defeat the Miami Hurricanes. He would go on to be a first round pick of the Carolina Panthers (28th overall). He would play in Carolina for 9 seasons, as the Panthers would be the only team he ever played with in the NFL.
Ted Ginn Jr. was the USA Today defensive player of the year in 2004, yet he would never play a snap of defense at Ohio State. Ginn would leave his mark as a receiver and may be the best punt returner OSU has ever had. He would have 4 punt return td’s in his freshman season alone. He would be an All American in in 2006. He would return the opening kickoff of the 2007 BCS title game for a touchdown, and it would be the only play he would be on the field for. He would suffer an ankle injury during the celebration of the td. He would be a first round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 2007 NFL draft. He would go on to have a 14 year NFL career with stops in San Francisco, New Orleans, Carolina twice, Chicago, and Arizona. Had he focused on track, I think he would’ve qualified for the Olympics.
It’s a toss up as to which number carries more weight at OSU, 2 or 7. But one thing is clear these 4 players all left their marks at OSU, and there are multiple others who I could have included in this article.
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