Ohio State football: 5 most underrated Ohio State Buckeyes in program history

Tim Spencer was one of many great Ohio State football running backs.

The lone running back on this list, Tim Spencer comes from a university that has a pretty famous line of great players at that position. Archie Griffin, Eddie George, Howard Cassady, Vic Janowicz are all Heisman winning running backs that played for the Buckeyes. Spencer was never able to get to that level, but he was still a fantastic player in his own right.

Playing from 1979-1982, Spencer is currently No. 5 on the all-time rushing yards list for the Buckeyes with 3,553 yards in his career. He led the Big Ten in rushing yards in 1982 with 1,538 and was No. 6 in the country in that season as well. He was second in the Big Ten in rushing yards in 1981 and led the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns in both 1981 and 1982.

While Spencer did make first-team all-Big Ten in his junior and senior seasons, he has never really been put up there with the greats in Buckeye history. Sure he didn’t win a Heisman like Archie Griffin before him and Eddie George after, but the numbers don’t lie and Spencer deserves to be talked about as an all-time great in Buckeye history.

He continued to fly under the radar going into the 1983 NFL Draft as well as he wouldn’t be drafted until the 11th round. Spencer opted to play in the United States Football League for the Chicago Blitz. Spencer would have a great career there, finishing as the third leading rusher in the league’s history.

At the time, most Ohio State football fans knew how good Spencer was, but due to better players coming after him, as well as his lack of winning awards, he will never be widely known as a Buckeye great.