Former Ohio State Football player to be inducted into a Ring of Honor

The Ohio State football program kind of gets overlooked when you talk about the great offensive linemen that they have produced. Of course, the great Orlando Pace gets talked about as one of the best offensive linemen to ever play, but others get overlooked too.

One of those overlooked guys is Nick Mangold. Mangold was a spectacular center for the Buckeyes when he was in Columbus. He was a First-Team All-American back in 2005, which was the year before he declared for the NFL Draft. After that, he was a first-round pick in 2006.

Mangold was taken 29th overall by the New York Jets and played his entire career there. His career spanned 11 seasons, so he played a long time. During that time, Mangold was named to seven Pro Bowls. He was also named Second-Team All-Pro once and First-Team All-Pro twice.

Because of Mangold’s solid play, he will be inducted into the Jets’ Ring of Honor this upcoming season. It’s an accolade that Mangold certainly deserves. I always thought he was one of the more underrated players in the NFL period, not just an underrated offensive lineman.

Mangold isn’t the first Ohio State football player to get inducted into an NFL team’s Ring of Honor and he certainly won’t be the last. But it’s much harder for offensive linemen to get the recognition that they deserve because they don’t touch the ball on every play. Mangold did because he was a center though.

In my mind, Mangold is right on the cusp of being in the Hall of Fame discussion. He probably needed a few more All-Pro teams to solidify his candidacy, but I don’t think the conversation is outrageous. He’s eligible now for it, so we’ll see if he ever gets enough votes to get in.