Every former Ohio State Football player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
By Ryan Stano
Ohio State football Hall of Famer No.10: OL Orlando Pace
Have you ever heard of a team campaigning for an offensive lineman to win the Heisman Trophy? Doesn’t that sound preposterous? Well, that’s exactly what the Ohio State football program did in 1996. Orlando Pace was actually a Heisman Trophy Finalist that year and finished fourth in the voting.
Pace was dominant with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a two-time Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, a two-time Lombardi Trophy winner, a two-time unanimous All-American, an Outland Trophy Winner, and was the Big Ten MVP in 1996.
Because of all of those accolades, he was the first overall pick in the 1996 draft by the St. Louis Rams. It was a fantastic pick. As an NFL player, he won a Super Bowl, was selected to seven Pro Bowls, was named First-Team All-Pro three times, and was named Second-Team All-Pro twice.
Pace is easily the best offensive lineman in Ohio State football history. There really isn’t a close second. He was so dominant in the game of football at both the collegiate and the NFL levels. He’s actually in the running for the most talented Ohio State football player period.
Pace was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016. It was only his second year of eligibility. We’ll probably never see another player like Pace again in college football. That’s how good of a player he was.
There you have it! Those are all ten Buckeyes who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.