The Buckeye Battle Cry will be counting down the Top 25 players of the past decade all spring/summer. Every Monday through May and June, Jim will be announcing a new player. Starting in July, we will be announcing new additions on Monday and Thursday. Our #1 player will be presented on Monday, August 30th. Three days later, the 2010 season officially begins. For a look at the rest of the Top 25, click here.
Cameron Heyward (2007-2010)
Cameron Heyward checks in at #19 on our countdown. While he has not received any significant hardware or national recognition up to this point, as you may have noticed, he still has one more year to do work. His position on this countdown is certainly partly due to expectations for the upcoming season, but Heyward has done plenty of damage in his first three seasons as it is.
His career 24.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks are a testament to the consistent force that Heyward has represented along Ohio State’s defensive line over the past three seasons. His ability to show up in big games is especially enjoyable to watch.
His goal this offseason was to become more consistent and dominate every game like he did in the big games last season. This may be wishful thinking on my part, but is it too much to ask for him to match his career numbers in his final season? Heyward certainly has the ability to do just that.
Heyward will be the focal point of the defensive front, and if he doesn’t put up monster numbers this year, it will most likely be due to offenses scheming around him, opening up opportunities for others to make plays. That type of impact on opponents game plans is going to be crucial for Ohio State and their national title run in 2010. And let’s not forget, all of this was made possible by Heyward’s decision to skip out on the NFL draft.
For giving Ohio State fans the gift of watching him play one more season for the Buckeyes, for his three years in the trenches already, and for what could be in 2010, Cameron Heyward is #19 on our countdown of the top 25 Buckeyes of the decade.
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