All Time Buckeye Greats: Through The Woody Hayes Era

Randy Gradishar received the biggest compliment a player could ever expect to come his way, when coach Woody Hayes called him “the best linebacker I ever coached”.

Playing middle linebacker, Gradishar led the Ohio State defense between 1971-73 and the Buckeyes were 25-6-1 during that time. His senior season Ohio State posted a 10-0-1 record and the defense only allowed 64 points while pitching four shutouts.

Gradishar was a first team All-American in 1972-73.  In 1973 he made 22 tackles in a game against Washington State, and registered 134 tackles for the season. Gradishar was also sixth in the Heisman voting that year.

Gradishar had a total of 320 tackles as a Buckeye which was an Ohio State record at the time. And that was in just 32 games.

The honors bestowed upon him, and his accomplishments in college as well as in the NFL, prove Randy Gradishar was one of the greatest linebackers in history.

He was inducted in the Varsity O Hall of Fame, the Ohio State All-Century Football Team and the College Football Hall of Fame. He also received the Dick Butkus Silver Anniversary Award recognizing his achievements 25 years after his graduation from Ohio State. And in 2000 Gradishar was named to ABC Sport’s All Century Team as an inside linebacker.

Randy Gradishar had a tremendous 10 year career in the NFL as the leader of the Denver Broncos “Orange Crush” defense. Gradishar was named to the All-AFC team seven times and was named All-Pro five times.

In his pro career Gradishar had 20 interceptions, 13 fumble recoveries, and his 2,049 tackles were an NFL record. But before he was a member of the “Orange Crush”, he was one of the greatest “Silver Bullets” of all time!

Next: Cornelius Green 1972-1975