Buckeye players who have claimed the Heisman Trophy

Troy Smith (2006)

Smith came to Ohio State as part of a heralded recruiting class in 2002, but his signing was little more than a footnote. His claim to fame was being Ted Ginn Jr.'s quarterback at Glenville High School.

Smith was labeled an "athlete" coming out of high school, the type of player who might ultimately find a home at wide receiver or defensive back.

Even Tressel wasn't sure he'd play quarterback, but he saw potential.

But Smith, a foster child as a teen with a quick temper, also had a penchant for finding trouble. After getting kicked off the basketball team at a private high school for elbowing an opponent, he transferred out of the suburbs of Cleveland to inner-city Glenville High. Smith, who is black, said the white opposing player used a racial slur against him.

At Ohio State, Smith was involved in a fight outside a dorm in the fall of 2003 and found guilty of disorderly conduct.

On the field, Smith couldn't beat out Justin Zwick, the highly touted blue-chipper from the '02 class, at the start of the 2004 season. But when the Buckeyes lost three straight and Zwick got hurt, Smith got his chance and righted the Buckeyes with his running and passing.

Then he tripped himself up again.

An NCAA investigation determined he took $500 from an Ohio State booster in the spring of 2004. He could have been gone from the Buckeyes for good. Ultimately, he had to repay the money and sit out a bowl game and the first game of 2005.

Back from suspension, he finally became a star.

Smith finished the '05 season with consecutive 300-yard passing games in victories over Michigan and Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, essentially kicking off his '06 Heisman campaign.

Just two years after nearly derailing his career by taking money from a booster, Smith received 801 first-place votes and won the Heisman by 1,662 points - both the second-best marks in the 71-year history of the award.  Smith also became the first true Big Ten quarterback to win one. Ohio State’s Les Horvath was called a quarterback when he won in 1944, but he was more of a halfback.

Once known more his speed and elusiveness, Smith's become the consummate pocket-passer. Accurate and poised, he's fourth in the nation in passer rating (167.9) with 2,507 yards passing and 30 TD passes.

The first Ohio State quarterback in 70 years to lead the Buckeyes to three straight victories over Michigan, Smith had 1,051 total yards with three touchdown passes and another TD run against the Wolverines.