Joey Bosa
Ohio State's Joey Bosa would have had his senior day this week. See the 21 players who will be honored on Saturday below.
(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ezekiel Elliott stood on the sidelines before last year's game against Michigan State with tears in his eyes, because he knew it was his final game in Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes didn't honor Elliott, or any of the nine underclassmen who left early for the NFL Draft after last season. Even when it was evident that guys like Elliott, Joey Bosa and Cardale Jones were clearly leaving for the NFL.
Ohio State just doesn't do that, so guys who had pretty impactful careers in Columbus never got the full final game in Ohio Stadium experience.
Ohio State will honor 21 players before Saturday's game against Michigan. Only six of them are on scholarship.
"It's, unfortunately, a very small class because a bunch of those cats left on us last year, who I love dearly," Urban Meyer said.
Meyer loves this class, too. He spoke highly of guys like Pat Elflein, punter Cameron Johnston and Dontre Wilson.
"You've got a punter who, we don't talk about him much, but I love him dearly, and he's a guy like you talk about a leap of faith -- big leap, like across continents -- and is a wonderful guy," Meyer said. "We've got a kicker that I love to death, Tyler Durbin, surprising that I know his name, but he's fantastic.
"Pat Elflein, one of the best football players I've been around. Dontre Wilson, has been an injury-prone career, but a wonderful guy who's all in with the team. Corey Smith, nicknamed the JC (junior college) Guy, was instrumental in our national championship year. He's also dealt with an injury as a junior and this year also with a broken hand.
"Oh, gosh, (Joe) Burger, (Craig) Fada. People joke around, or I joke around, if I have any more children, I'm going to name him Burger Fada. That's how much I love those guys. Two of the most selfless guys I've ever been around, and I'm so proud to be able to put them on scholarship. They'll be Buckeyes the rest of their life."
They'll all get their deserved moment in Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
Just remember the other guys who were supposed to be there, too.
Here are the 21 players Ohio State will honor on Saturday:
* 18 TE Chase Hounshell, Kirtland
* 70 DL Curtis Henry, Cleveland
* 15 DB Cam Howard, Columbus
* 23 WR Devlin McDaniel, Marion
* 44 TE Guy Ferrelli, Galloway
* 20 DB Khaleed Franklin, Columbus
* 19 WR Joe Ramstetter, Cincinnati
* 37 DB Michael Lawless, Dover
* 28 DB Michael Cibene, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
* 26 DB Jarrod Barnes, Westerville
* 16 DB Cam Burrows, Trotwood
* 30 DB Devan Bogard, Cleveland
* 44 LS Aaron Mawhirter, Sandusky
* 62 OL Aaron Parry, Zanesville
* 92 K Tyler Durbin, Fairfax, Va.
* 5 WR Corey Smith, Akron
* 95 P Cameron Johnston, Geelong, Australia
* 2 H-B Dontre Wilson, DeSoto, Texas
* 38 LB Craig Fada, Columbus
* 48 LB Joe Burger, Cincinnati
* 65 OC Pat Elflein, Pickerington