All-Decade Ohio State Football Dream Team (2005-2015)

Running back: Ezekiel Elliott (2013-15)

Ohio State has had some very impressive running backs in the last decade. Between Antonio Pittman, Chris “Beanie” Wells, Carlos Hyde and Ezekiel Elliott, either of them could have started for just about any team in the country during their tenure at Ohio State. But one man stands ahead of the pack: Ezekiel Elliott.

Let’s face it, you don’t become a top five NFL draft pick for no reason. While sporting a ‘hero in a half shirt’ jersey, similar to former Heisman trophy winning Ohio State running back Eddie George, all Elliott did in his career at Ohio State was make defenses look silly.

Despite skipping his senior year and opting to take his talents to the NFL, Elliott rushed for a total of 3,961 yards in his career as a Buckeye, only trailing two-time Heisman trophy winner Archie Griffin for most rushing yards (5,589) in Ohio State history.

Elliott rushed for over 1,800 yards in each of his last two seasons at Ohio State. Had he stayed for his senior season and put up similar numbers, he would have become the leading rusher in the history of Ohio State football. Now that’s saying something!

In the 2015 season the Missouri native was a unanimous All-Big Ten selection, a second-team All-American, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, the Big Ten Running Back of the Year, and a Fiesta Bowl Champion. In the 2014 season he was the recipient of the Archie Griffin and James E. Sullivan Award, and he was a Big Ten, Sugar Bowl and national champion.

Next: Santonio Holmes