Ohio State to place Jim Tressel in Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor

Jim Tressel will have his name enshrined inside Ohio Stadium during Ohio State's season-opener against Ball State, the program announced Tuesday.

"Jim Tressel's impact on Ohio State is long-lasting and still ever-present on our campus. He is not only one of the most accomplished coaches in our school's history but in the entire history of college football. What truly sets him apart is the way he led, taught, and served others. Coach Tressel built championship teams while developing generations of young men who went on to become leaders in their communities and professions. His commitment to excellence and the student-athlete experience helped define an era of Ohio State football and strengthened the values that continue to guide our department today," AD Ross Bjork said.

Despite producing eight College Football Hall of Fame coaches and counting, Tressel is just the third to have his name placed inside the Horseshoe. He'll join Woody Hayes and Paul Brown in the ultra-ultra-exclusive club. Hayes is the winningest coach in Ohio State history (276) and claimed five national titles with 13 Big Ten titles. Brown, interestingly, was enshrined more for what he did for the State of Ohio rather than Ohio State. Despite going just 18-8-1 from 1941-43 in Columbus (including a 3-6 mark in '43), Brown won four mythical national championships at Massillon Washington High School, then led the Cleveland Browns to three NFL championships and served as the inaugural head coach, president and owner of the Cincinnati Bengals. With national championships of their own, it's likely a matter of time before Urban Meyer and Ryan Day join Brown, Hayes and Tressel in ceremonially looking down upon the Horseshoe's playing surface. 

Taking over for John Cooper, a College Football Hall of Famer who failed to beat Michigan, Tressel established a new standard for Ohio State coaches. He foreshadowed victory in a speech to Buckeye fans shortly after taking the job, then delivered the following November, leading the unranked Buckeyes to a 26-20 upset of No. 11 Michigan at the Big House. Tressel would go 8-1 against That Team Up North thereafter, and since his hiring Ohio State owns an 18-6 record against the Wolverines.

Tressel was elite against everyone else, too. He finished his career with a 106-23 mark, with seven Big Ten championships, eight AP top-10 finishes, seven AP top-5 finishes, three national championship appearances, and a national title in 2002. Tressel would have been even more successful in today's game: in 10 seasons, he would have made the 12-team College Football Playoff eight times, and a 24-team Playoff nine times. 

Tressel was forced to resign in 2011 for the Tattoogate scandal, which wouldn't have been a scandal at all today. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015, spent nearly a decade as the president of Youngstown State University, and today is the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Ohio.

My only note for the folks at Ohio State before Tressel's enshrinement becomes officially official in September: the Dallas Cowboys put an oversized fedora next to Tom Landry's name in their Ring of Honor at AT&T Stadium. We've got to find a way to get a giant sweater vest on the C deck at the 'Shoe.