The All-Tressel Offensive team did generate some controversy and I am fairly certain this team will as well. Let us face it, over 7 years it is easy to probably think one player over another may or may not have been better than another at the same position. The important things that matter during those 7 years, however, are 6-1, 4 Big Ten titles, 1 National Championship, and 6-1.

Defensive End

The Buckeyes have maintained a stable of great defensive ends over the years and none have been greater than Vernon Gholston. Gholston is an obvious choice for this team as he walked away as the all-time season sack leader in Ohio State history. So, who should join him? Ohio State has seen - Simon Fraser, Jay Richardson, Will Smith, and Darrion Scott, all play under Tress, as well as up and comers, Cameron Heyward, Lawrence Wilson, and Robert Rose. Your bookends on the All-Tressel defensive line are:

Vernon Gholston:

 

Will Smith: There are no videos out to display Will Smith’s defensive prowess off the end, however, Smith did finish with 23 career sacks (10.5 his senior season). His total sacks over his career ranked him fifth in Ohio State history at the time. He was eventually drafted 18th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Defensive Tackle

A position that hasn’t been a strong point for the Buckeyes over the years. The recruiting has changed as of late to recruit faster and stronger interior defensive lineman but that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes haven’t had a couple of tough men on the inside since Tressel’s arrival. Your top two defensive tackles on the All-Tressel team are:

Tim Anderson a stud out of Clyde, Ohio and was actually an Ohio State champion wrestler in high school. This wrestling prowess led to his power on the inside which punished offensive lineman and wound up leading him as a third round draft pick in the NFL.

Quinn Pitcock outside of having an awesome name the Piqua, Ohio native was a force on the inside line for the 2005 and 2006 Buckeyes. His prowess and strength led him to be a third round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Linebacker

Forget Penn State and their black shoes and their Dan Connor’s, Paul Posluzny’s, and LaVrar Arrington’s. Nobody has got a thing on Ohio State’s linebacking corps over the past few years. Seriously, who can step on: Bobby Carpenter, Matt Wilhelm, AJ Hawk, Anthony Schlegel, Cie Grant, James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and up and coming studs, Etienne Sabino, Thad Gibson, and Austin Spitler? The answer … NOBODY.  Your All-Tressel linebacker crew is:

AJ Hawk in one word was a stud on the collegiate level. Outside of marrying Brady Quinn’s slacked jawed sister everything this guy did was right. Just watch Hawk and fellow All-Tressel team linebacker Bobby Carpenter own folks in this video:

 

 And your final member of the All-Tressel linebacking crew is …. James Laurinaitis who could simply go down as the most decorated and successful linebacking in all of Ohio State history.

 

Cornerbacks

Not a slouch of a position for the Bucks over the years either. Since Tressel’s arrival there have been some great corners like - Antonio Smith, Dustin Fox, Chris Gamble, Malcolm Jenkins, and Ashton Youboty. Your All-Tressel team at corner is:

Malcolm Jenkins a man who was a sure fire first round pick in this past years NFL draft and a fella who probably still hasn’t played up to his potential. Wow. Check out Malcolm:

 Ashton Youboty undoubtedly left school a year too early but his play was always exceptional. If you remember Ashton was highly involved in what lead to this great meltdown ….

 

This was certainly not a …….

… but I’ll be darned if it’s still not great.

Safety

I love this position. I never played ‘defense’ in pick up football as a kid … I played safety because I wanted to kick your tail when I had the chance. It’s true. There have been a couple of guys who have done this at Ohio State since Tressel started in 2001 and they were not named - Donnie Nickey, Will Allen, Nate Salley, or Anderson Russell. They were however named:

Mike Doss … need I say more … the very end of this vid says it for me.

 

Donte Whitner… you know .. I was trying to come up with some words about Donte Whitner so I went looking through highlight videos and then my wife said I was boring her. Then I thought … is this the life of a sports blogger … am I that much of a loser. Good chance, yes. But …

… whoever posted that sucks harder. Thank you random Youtube user for making me feel better about myself. Wow. By the way, wicked pick.

Ok, the All-Tressel Defensive Team is set …. thoughts?

My first is this … it’s 10:15 pm and Michigan still sucks.

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