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Urban Meyer, James Laurinaitis make ballot for 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class
A pair of Ohio State legends made the ballot for the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class: Urban Meyer and James Laurinaitis.
Meyer and Laurinaitis are among 221 coaches and players listed, including 86 from the FBS ranks.
Meyer coached the Buckeyes for seven seasons. It was his final college stop after he served as the head coach at Bowling Green (2001-02), Utah (2003-04), Florida (2005-10) and then Ohio State (2012-18). He led Florida to two BCS national championships and Ohio State to a national title in the inaugural College Football Playoff. At one point, Meyer even piloted the Buckeyes to an NCAA-record 30 straight conference wins.
Meyer took over the Buckeyes after the infamous “Tattoogate” scandal, which resulted in the resignation of longtime head coach Jim Tressel, NCAA sanctions and a postseason ban for the first season of Meyer’s tenure. His Buckeyes responded with a 12-0 campaign in 2012, a watershed moment in program history. Two seasons later, they won it all despite facing not one but two significant quarterback injuries.
While Meyer is just about six seasons removed from being the face of the Buckeyes, Laurinaitis is currently coaching at Ohio State. He’s now a full-time position coach after joining the staff as a graduate assistant and assistant linebackers coach last season. Before Laurinaitis launched his coaching career, he made a name for himself as a player, first with the Buckeyes and then in the NFL as a seven-year starter with the now-Los Angeles Rams.
Laurinaitis became a three-time consensus All-American (2006-08) in college. He also won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice and earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition in three different seasons. Plus, he won the Bronco Nagurski Trophy in 2006, the Butkus Award in 2007 and the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2008. Atop the Buckeyes’ tackling leaderboard three straight seasons, Laurinaitis was a defensive stalwart who took part in two BCS national title games.
More than 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current Hall of Famers received this year’s ballot. Their votes will be collected and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Court for final selection. The announcement of the 2025 class will be made early next year.
Five Questions for Buckeyes talent-laden wide receiver room
Lettermen Row has turned the page of its position preview series to “Wide Receivers Week.” The Buckeyes lost two starting wideouts this offseason: Marvin Harrison Jr. became the highest-drafted Ohio State receiver, and Julian Fleming transferred to Penn State.
Even so, the Buckeyes remain well stocked at the position. That’s a testament to the pipeline receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has built. There’s no question about that.
We do, however, have questions about the Buckeyes’ wideout room this season. One of them is about the Jeremiah Smith playing time timeline. Check out all five of our questions, and our analysis, here.
RELATED
Ohio State to wear alternate gray uniforms for Iowa game
Ohio State is bringing back its gray alternate uniforms for its first Big Ten home game of the season. Last year, the Buckeyes wore gray jerseys and gray pants for a Week 12 matchup versus Michigan State. They handled the struggling Spartans squad, 38-3.
This time around, the Buckeyes will breaking out their alternate uniforms much earlier in the season. They’re scheduled to host Iowa on Oct. 5. That day, Ohio State will be rolling out its “Hall of Fame” theme and its gray threads.
For the complete rundown of the Buckeyes’ game day themes, head on over here.
Rounding up Lettermen Row coverage of first official visit weekend…
The Buckeyes hosted 10 official visitors this past weekend. Several of those 2025 prospects have already spoken with Lettermen Row.
Check out those stories below…
WR Daylan McCutcheon: https://on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ohio-state-buckeyes-football-recruiting-daylan-mccutcheon-official-visit-recap/
EDGE Justin Hill: https://on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ohio-state-football-recruiting-justin-hill-james-laurinaitis-larry-johnson-official-visit-recap/
WR Vernell Brown III: https://on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ohio-state-football-recruiting-vernell-brown-iii-brian-hartline-official-visit-recap/
LB Riley Pettijohn: https://on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ohio-state-football-recruiting-riley-pettijohn-james-laurinaitis-ryan-day-duke-pettijohn/
Commit TJ Alford (LB): https://on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ohio-state-football-recruiting-tj-alford-james-laurinaitis-official-visit-aj-hawk/
Commit DeShawn Stewart (DB): https://on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ohio-state-buckeyes-football-recruiting-deshawn-stewart-official-visit-recap/
Counting Down
Buckeyes vs. Akron: 88 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 179 days
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The post Scarlet Sunrise: Urban Meyer, James Laurinaitis make ballot for 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class appeared first on On3.