Then-coach Jim Tressel holds the championship trophy after a game against Oregon Jan. 1, 2010, at the Rose Bowl. OSU won, 26-17.
Credit: Courtesy of TNS
Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and three former OSU players are listed on the 2014 College Football Hall of Fame ballot, according to an OSU release.
Alongside Tressel — who is the current president of Youngstown State University — on the ballot are former Buckeye running back Keith Byars, linebacker Tom Cousineau and fullback Jim Otis. The former coach and three players are among 193 names on the ballot.
The 2015 class is set to be announced on Jan. 9 in Arlington, Texas, three days before the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship Game, according to the release.
Tressel coached at Youngstown State from 1986-2000 before joining the Buckeyes from 2001-10. He won the Football Championship Subdivision national title four times with the Penguins before winning the 2002 BCS National Championship with OSU.
Byars was the 1984 Heisman Trophy runner-up, the same season he was named the Big Ten MVP and a first team All-American and All-Big Ten. He’s fifth in OSU history for all-purpose yards and rushing yards. Byars also played 13 seasons in the NFL as a running back and tight end.
Cousineau’s 572 career tackles while at OSU are the second best in school history and he was named first team All-American twice to go with three All-Big Ten seasons. He was drafted first overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 1979 NFL Draft.
Otis won the 1968 national championship with the Buckeyes and was named a first team All-American the following year.
Currently in the College Football Hall of Fame are 24 former Buckeye players and 10 former coaches. Former offensive lineman Orlando Pace was inducted last year. The last OSU coach to be inducted was John Cooper in 2008.
