One measure of a football program's status is the number of All-American players it has produced. The numbers can be a bit tricky, however, as many individuals and organizations have named All-American teams over the years and each school compiles its own "official" list of first team All-American selections that it recognizes. William Cunningham (tackle) was Michigan's first All-American in 1898. UM had nine All-Americans before Ohio State received its first award when Boyd Cherry was named at the end position in 1914. Since then OSU has built a significant lead in the total number of All-American awards, based on its many multiple winners, as well as in the number of individual All-Americans.

Boyd Cerry
Boyd Cherry,
End, 1914
First Team All-Americans
OSUUM
Total All-American Awards 217 171
Number of Individuals 167 143
Two-time All-Americans 33 24
Three-time All-Americans 8 2
 William Cunningham
Will Cunningham,
Center, 1898
 

Since Walter Camp picked Cunningham for his team in 1898, Michigan has had at least one All-American in all but 38 years. Ohio State boasts a better percentage over a shorter time-span with All-Americans in all but 18 seasons since 1914. OSU's best year was 1974 with seven selections, while Michigan garnered five All-Americans in 1981.

"
LeCharles
LeCharles Bentley,
Center, 2001

Mike Doss
Mike Doss,
Safety, 2001
All-Americans by Position
OSUPosition UM
(27)* 35End 32 (25)*
(32) 40 Tackle 40 (31)
(23) 27 Guard 20 (17)
(14) 14Center 16 (15)
(13) 23Halfback 18 (16)
(6) 7Fullback4(4)
(7) 7Quarterback 8# (7)
(14) 22 Linebacker 10 (10)
(20) 26 Defensive Back 21 (15)
(3) 5Punter
(1) 2 Kicker 2 (2)
(1)1 Punt Returner
Marquis Walker
Marquise Walker,
Receiver, 2001

Larry Foote
Larry Foote,
Linebacker, 2001

* this column indicates the number of different individuals named all-American
# 2010 quarterback Denard Robinson was named by Football Writers Association simply as a "back".