Les Horvath was Ohio State'se first Heisman Trophy winner, and led the Buckeyes to a perfect season in 1944. Horvath played quarterback and halfback on offense and safety on defense. He did not play in 1943 because he was enrolled in the School of Dentistry, but had a year left of eligibility and returned to the team in 1944. That year, Horvath led the Big Ten in rushing and total offense, setting the Big Ten rushing record. He is the only player to win the Heisman Trophy who did not play the previous year.

Vic Janowicz played three positions on offense and safety on defense. He was a runner, passer, and blocker, and also did all of the kicking for the Buckeyes. In 1950, Janowicz had 16 touchdowns and 875 yards in offense. He also led the Buckeyes in scoring with 65 points. In the Iowa game Janowicz ran for two touchdowns, passed for four more and kicked a Big Ten record 10 extra points. In the famous "Snowbowl" game against Michigan he scored OSU's only points on a 27 yard field goal and punted 21 times for 685 yards.

Howard "Hopalong" Cassady led the Buckeyes in 1954 to a perfect season and a national championship. Cassady rushed for 985 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, and scored fifteen touchdowns in his Heisman season. He also earned a second all-American award and AP Athlete of the Year Award. Cassady came off the bench  as a 150 pound freshman to score three touchdowns in his first game and started every game after that.

Archie Griffin is the only player to ever win two Heisman Trophies. Griffin holds the NCAA record for 100-yard games (33) and consecutive 100-yard games (31) as well as the record for the most average yards per carry (6.13). A four year-year starter at tailback, Griffin rushed for an OSU career record ,5,89 yards. He was a three-time all-American, twice named Walter Camp and UPI Player of the Year. He led the Buckeyes to a 40-5-1 record and four Big Ten titles and is the only player to start in four consecutive Rose Bowl games.

Howard's acrobatic catches made him one of the most electrifying players ever to play the game. At 5-9, 176 pounds, he was the first receiver to lead the Big Ten in scoring (90) as he set or tied five NCAA records and 12 single-season Michigan records including most points (138), touchdowns (23), and consecutive games with a scoring catch (19).    Howard  was also recognized with the Walter Camp Player-of- the-Year Trophy,  the Maxwell Award,  the Big Ten Athlete-of-the-Year and UPI and AP Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors.

OSU tailback Eddie George rushed for a school record 1,927 yards and 23 touchdowns in 1995. He carried the ball 328 times for a .9 yards per try, and caught 47 passes for 417 yards. and 1 touchdown. Three of his games that year were over 200-yard games, one of which was a school record 314 yards against Illinois. George ended the season leading the country in scoring with an average of 12.1 points per game. In addition to the Heisman, George picked up the Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

The first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, Woodson was a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, making amazingly acrobatic interceptions and spectacular receptions. He started his second game as a true freshman and played 34 straight games before entering the pro's draft after his junior year. MVP of the 1997 national championship team, his interceptions were second in the nation, and he scored four touchdowns on a run, two pass receptions and a punt return. Woodson was also named 1997 Walter Camp Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Year, and the Jim Thorpe Award winner as the top defensive back in the nation. He was a two-time All-American and a unanimous consensus All-American selection in 1997.

Quarterbacked Ohio State to an undefeated season in 2006 and boasts a 25-2 record as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback, including a 10-1 mark against ranked teams, and a 3-0 ledger against Michigan. Smith completed 199 of his 297 passes in 2006, good for 2,507 yards and a school-record 30 touchdowns. Smith was a first-team selection to the Walter Camp All-America team and a first-team All-America selection by the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America and the Sporting News and named Sporting News Player of the Year. He was voted by his teammates as the Buckeyes' 2006 Most Valuable Player and named the Big Ten's offensive player of the year.