By Sam Coombs

Photo Courtesy of Fox Sports

Eddie George, former running back for The Ohio State University was the type of player that had to work hard for his playing time early as things weren’t just given to him. He showed his coaches that he had great potential but had a few problems in his game he had to fix. George often had issues fumbling the football. In a game his freshman year against Illinois he fumbled on the 4 yard line and the ball was picked up and ran 96 yards the other way for a touchdown. Later in the game, George fumbled on the Illinois 1 yard line and Illinois went on the score the game winning touchdown on that drive. After this game George only carried the ball 12 more times and knew he needed to prove to his coaches he belonged on the field. George didn’t consistently see the field until his junior year when he became the starting running back after a lot of hard work to show he coaches he belonged.

His junior season was a big confidence boost for him and he rushed for 1,442 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. His senior season was by far the best of his college career both carrying the ball and as a receiver. George was the focal point of the Buckeyes offense and he was making national attention for himself. George got redemption his senior season against Illinois rushing for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns, this coming 3 years after fumbling twice near the goal line his freshmen year. It was clear George was a completely different player and these experiences made him grow on and off the field.

George finished his senior season in 1995 with an Ohio State record 1,947 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns and had only fumbled 6 times in over 600 carries since his freshmen year. George finished with many accolades after his senior year the two best being 1st team All American and the winner of the prestigious Heisman Trophy beating Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier.
After his college career football career and earning a Bachelors Degree in Landscape Architecture, George was drafted 14th overall to then the Houston Oilers (which move to Tennessee and became the Tennessee Titans) and stayed with this franchise for most of his career. He battled some injuries because of his style of play, which limited him to only 9 years in the league. George played in 4 Pro Bowls and is ranked 26th on the all time rushing yards list with 10,441 rushing yards.