The Buckeye Battle Cry will be counting down the Top 25 players of the past decade all spring/summer. Every Monday and Thursday, Jim will be announcing a new player. Our #1 player will be presented on Monday, August 30th. Three days later, the 2010 season officially begins. To view the previous entries in our Top 25, click here.
Ted Ginn Jr. (2005-2006)
Simply put, Ted Ginn Jr. was one of the most electrifying players in the history of college football. With world class speed and an innate ability to make defenders miss, Ginn was a threat to score every time he touched the ball.
Over the course of his career, Ginn went from a special teams phenom as a freshman to one of the best game breaking wide receivers in the country. He led the team in receiving in 2006 on the most prolific Ohio State offense of the decade.
Ginn earned first team All-American honors as a punt returner in 2006, but his season and career at wide out were stellar as well.
Ginn has the 6th most career receptions (135) and the 8th most career reception yards (1,943) at Ohio State. In addition to his achievements catching the ball, he set the Big Ten record with 6 career punt return touchdowns.
To truly appreciate what Ginn was able to do on the football field, you have to go past the stats and witness some highlights.
Ah, that was nice.
Back to the stats for a moment, all together, Ginn had 4,068 all-purpose yards and 26 touchdowns in 37 games at Ohio State. While he did lack a certain level of polish at receiver throughout his career, being one of the fastest players ever helped to compensate for that.
That elite speed and big play ability is what Miami was looking for when they drafted him 9th overall in the 2007 NFL draft.
Ginn didn’t lose his game breaking ability and world class speed in the NFL.
Unfortunately, his lack of polish and consistency as a receiver (partial blame to the terrible QBs in Miami) have prevented him from living up to his end of the bargain as a top 10 draft pick.
Miami traded Ginn to the 49ers this off season, and the new setting may be the spark that he needs to take his game to the next level.
Regardless of what happens in San Fran…
For electrifying the Big Ten for three seasons on special teams, for leading the most prolific offense of the decade in receiving, for putting up surprisingly respectable career receiving numbers, and simply for being one of the most exciting players to watch ever, Ted Ginn is number 5 on our countdown of the top 25 Buckeyes of the last decade.
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