Regular visitors of notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. We will eventually extend that to the major universities, and thus it is important to us that Ohio State will be honoring Jim Tressel as a member of the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor this September.

Tressel first coached at Ohio State from 1983 to 1985, where he was the Quarterbacks/Running Backs coach, but he departed for the Head Coach job at Youngstown State, where he coached from 1986 to 2000, taking the Penguins to four Division I-AA Championships.  He made a triumphant return to Columbus following the 2000 season, and for the next decade, Tressel was among the top coaches in college football.

In the ten years he coached Ohio State, the Buckeyes compiled a scintillating 106-23 record, peaking with a 2002 NCAA Championship win with a Fiesta Bowl win.  He also led the school to four other bowl wins (2003 Fiesta, 2004 Alamo, 2009 Rose, and 2010 Sugar) and, in eight separate campaigns, finished with a top-ten ranking.

Tressel was suspended in 2011 for failing to notify the NCAA about violations by his players. The scandal snowballed and would eventually force Tressel to resign later that year.  Regardless of the scandal, Tressel remained a beloved figure in Ohio, and this accolade is long overdue for many Buckeyes fans.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Jim Tressel for his impending honor.

One of the most successful Cornerbacks in Ohio State history, Antoine Winfield was an All-American who won both the Jim Thorpe Award and the Jack Tatum Trophy in 1998, which propelled him to a First Round Pick where he landed in nearby Buffalo.

The Bills used him as the third Corner as a rookie, but he became a starter and showcased elite tackling and man-to-man coverage over the next four seasons.  Winfield started as a Bill, but he became a star in Minnesota purple.  He signed with the Vikings in 2004, where his versatility shone through.

Winfield was a Viking from 2004 to 2012, where he had 21 of his 27 Interceptions.  He also had a three-year run of Pro Bowls (2008-10), which included a Second-Team All-Pro in 2008. He had always been a physical player, but in the late 2000s, he finally got his due.

Winfield retired after the 2012 Season with 1,054 Tackles and an imprint on everyone he delivered them to.

The San Diego Chargers took Ohio State Buckeye offensive lineman Jim Lachey 12^th Overall in 1985, and he was plugged in immediately as the Bolts’ starting Left Tackle. 

Named to the All-Rookie Team, Lachey would be named a Pro Bowler in 1987, but after signing with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1988, he was shipped off to the Washington Redskins after one game, and he would become a late addition to the "Hogs," the famed Skins' O-Line.  Lachey would rattle off three straight First Team All-Pros (1989-91) and was a member of their Super Bowl XXVI Championship Team.

It is not a stretch by any means to state that Nick Mangold was the greatest New York Jets center ever.  We could easily go a step further and state that he is one of the best offensive linemen in franchise history.

From Ohio State, Mangold started immediately at quarterback as a rookie, and he would start and play 164 Games, all for the Jets.  Mangold made his first of seven Pro Bowls in 2008, and he was also named to two First Team All-Pro rosters (2009 & 2010).  Mangold will likely receive consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he might be a bubble candidate.

One of the main roles of an Offensive Lineman is to create holes for Running Backs.  The Cleveland Browns of the 1960s had some of the best runners, and Dick Schafrath was a big reason they had so much opportunity to run. 

Stepping in from Ohio State, Dick Schafrath maintained the high level coaches expected at that position.  He protected the weak side brilliantly but used his powerful, albeit undersized frame to create holes for Cleveland backs.  In fact, on eight occasions, Cleveland Browns’ Running Backs won the rushing title with Schafrath anchoring the left side.

As a four-time First Team All-Pro, it is a little curious that he hasn’t received a look from the Hall, but with the great post-football life that he led, he doesn’t need the accolade to make his existence complete.

Does longevity mean more than greatness?  We ask this question about Jim Marshall, who had a solid 20-year career but made the Pro Bowl only twice.

Jim Marshall was truly the model of consistency.  For nineteen of his twenty-year career, he patrolled the Minnesota Vikings defense in a time period that seemed to last forever.  Marshall set longevity records by setting the consecutive starts record for a Defensive End and the most Fumbles recovered.  Although he wasn't dominant, he was very good, and the NFL doesn’t allow a player to last twenty years just for charitable reasons.  Marshall recovered 30 fumbles over his career, which is also a record for Defensive Ends.

Again, Jim Marshall was a great player for Minnesota, but without a dominating period, it is difficult to see how Marshall can get into the Hall of Fame.  With only one year as a finalist, it seems that the Hall committee thinks the same, especially considering he was not on the Centennial Slate Finalists in 2020.  Nevertheless, when fans talk about Hall of Fame snubs among Defensive Ends, the voices for Jim Marshall extend well beyond the borders of Minnesota.