Chris Ward was a third wheel on the great Ohio State teams of the mid-1970s. Or maybe the third and fourth wheel, considering he weighed in at 275.
Ward played left tackle on an offense that included running backs Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson and quarterback Cornelius Greene, which means most fans only noticed him when he false-started or fell on a fumble.
“There isn’t a lot of glamour for us,” Ward said on Wednesday while reminiscing about an offense that fairly mirrors what the Buckeyes will field this season.
The parts are not perfectly interchangeable, but replace Griffin, Johnson and Greene with Ezekiel Elliott, Braxton Miller and either Cardale Jones or J.