Ohio State Football: Best OSU Quarterbacks in the NFL

Today we dive into some of the best quarterbacks the Ohio State football program has put in the NFL.

Honorable Mention- Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow played at LSU after he lost the starting QB battle at the Ohio State football program to Dwayne Haskins. He transferred to LSU after his redshirt year and won the Heisman Trophy and national championship in 2019. He was later drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020, where he has continued to be. Burrow has so far gone on to play in 7 playoff games, and in 2022 he went to the Super Bowl but lost.

Troy Smith

Troy Smith is a quarterback many fans remember. Troy Smith became the Ohio State football program’s seventh Heisman winner after leading the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season in 2006. The thing fans remember best about him was his games against archrival TTUN.

He accumulated 1,151 yards of total offense, two rushing touchdowns, and seven passing touchdowns, in the three games he played against them. He was later drafted by the Ravens, where he played 3 years, and then played 1 year in San Francisco. His whole career he was a backup and only started around 8 games.

Justin Fields

Justin Fields was an amazing Buckeye during his college years. He played one of the best performances ever seen in college football, in his final year with OSU in the postseason. He beat a hard-hitting Clemson team, on which he played through a rib injury.

Then went on to lose to Alabama in the national championship. He went to get drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2021 the 11th overall. It’s looking likely that he will have to have a decent year this year or the Bears could move on from him.

Craig Krenzel

Krenzel led Ohio State to a national championship in 2002. After Krenzel’s senior season at Ohio State in which he threw for 2,040 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, he was selected with the No. 148 overall pick in the fifth round by the Chicago Bears.

He played one year for the NFL. Now he is a spokesman for JD Equipment and has acted in several commercial spots. Krenzel now is a partner of the Arthur Krenzel Lett Insurance Group in Columbus, Ohio, and Winfield, West Virginia.

Art Schlichter

Schlichter is a quarterback maybe not most remember. Schlichter was a four-year starting quarterback at Ohio State and finished in the top six of Heisman Trophy balloting during his last three years. In four years, he threw for 7,547 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes, with 46 interceptions, and also ran for 1,303 yards and 25 touchdowns.

As a freshman, Schlichter led the Buckeyes in the 1978 Gator Bowl against Clemson, where he led a late drive with Ohio State down 17-15. He later went to play for the Colts, but his career unfortunately ended shortly after due to his gambling addiction.

Mike Tomczak

Tomczak won three bowl games with the Buckeyes, highlighted by the Fiesta Bowl in 1984. He threw for 5569 yds and 32 TDS in his four years with Ohio State. He went on to be pretty successful in the NFL after being drafted by the Bears. He also played for the Packers and Steelers. In his rookie year, he earned himself a ring as a backup.

C.J. Stroud after this year could have a chance to make this list. We’ll just have to wait and see!