We’ve been going through a series here at Buckeyes Wire. It’s a debate on which Ohio State football player is the best to wear specific jersey numbers, and we’re cruising along, now up to jersey No. 19 as we count down towards the hopeful start of college football in 2020.
Before we get into all the fun, here’s an update on where we stand with the jersey numbers we’ve debated to date:
Jersey No. 1 | Jersey No. 2 | Jersey No. 3 | Jersey No. 4 | Jersey No. 5 | Jersey No. 6 | Jersey No. 7 | Jersey No. 8 | Jersey No. 9 | Jersey No. 10 | Jersey No. 11 | Jersey No. 12 | Jersey No. 13 | Jersey No. 14 | Jersey No. 15 | Jersey No. 16 | Jersey No. 17 | Jersey No. 18
We’re all a little stir crazy from being locked down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as things begin to open, it’s still fun to debate Buckeye football history. In the long, illustrious history of Ohio State football, there is sure to be some disagreement, but that only makes it more fun.
We will continue to keep going along his journey through the summer and will have the results of all of the Twitter surveys where you can vote further down the road. For now, get your voice heard on this one in the below survey.
Next … Mark’s starts the conversation
Contact/Follow Mark Russell
As honorable mention, I’ll throw out punter and quarterback Tom Tupa. However, I have to single-out defensive back Ahmed Plummer as the best to wear No. 19 at Ohio State.
Plummer was the next great corner at OSU coming off the heals of Shawn Springs and Antione Winfield. However, Plummer didn’t get quite the recognition as the lone star in the secondary as 1999 was a down year for the Buckeyes going 6-6.
Regardless, Plummer was one of the greats at DB. He was a team captain, racked up 14 career interceptions and at the time of leaving the Buckeyes, Plummer had the most pass breakups for a career with 34.
A first-round draft pick in 2000, Plummer had a solid six-year career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Next … Phil opinion
Contact/Follow Phil Harrison
Plummer is a solid pick, but I’m actually going to go all-in with Tom Tupa. He was the team’s starting quarterback in 1987 and is arguably one of the best punters ever in the Big Ten. He is statistically speaking the best punter in Ohio State history when it comes to average per punt. In 1984 he set the record at 47.1 yards per punt, and also holds the second place average with 47.0 from his senior season in 1987.
His numbers at quarterback won’t jump off the page at you, but he did throw for 1,786 yards and twelve touchdowns in 1987, helping orchestrate an upset of Michigan in Earle Bruce’s last game as a head coach. In The Game, he passed for 219 yards on 18 of 26 passing.
Though it doesn’t mean anything for what he did in college, Tupa went on to have a productive NFL career as a punter and backup quarterback and was a member of the Super Bowl-winning Tampa Buccaneers team in 2003.
Next … Brock’s final take
Contact/Follow Brock Netter
Phil literally stole all of my thunder with Tupa’s accolades. Can you imagine being a defensive coordinator trying to prepare for Tupa back there on 4th down?
There’s really not a ton of high-end players to choose from, but a starting quarterback that threw for almost 2,000 yards and is arguably the best punter in Ohio State history qualifies here. Also, sending Earle Bruce out as a winner has to count for something.
By the way, he also threw a couple of touchdown passes in relief of Vinny Testaverde for the Jets. Have fun reminiscing.
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