You decide: Ohio State football’s all-decade center

The 2010s are coming to an end and we can’t help but reminisce about the memories that the decade brought with it— a national championship, four Big Ten titles, four head coaches, and some of the best to ever wear the scarlet and gray.

To wrap up the decade, we want to hear from you about who you think should comprise the Ohio State Buckeyes’ All-Decade team. From now until the end of the year, we will be going position by position and giving you the candidates so that you can decide who receives this honor more prestigious than a tree in Buckeye Grove, a pair of gold pants, or a ring so big that you have to carry a 10 pound weight in the other hand just to stay balanced.

You’ll be able to vote in the positional articles through Dec. 30 at 12 noon ET, and on Twitter for one week after the poll goes up. Keep in mind that since we are conducting part of the voting on Twitter, we are limited to just four options per position, so this is going to be tough!

Once all the votes are in for every position, we’ll reveal the final All-Decade roster on the final day of the 2010s.

Next up: Center. Here are your candidates:

Corey Linsley (2012-2013)

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After playing two seasons as a backup guard, Linsley moved to center after the departure of All-American center Mike Brewster. It was the best move that he could have made, as he went on to start in all 26 games during his two years at the position.

In 2012, he helped the Buckeyes post a Big Ten-best 37.2 points per game while ranking second in rushing with an average of 242.2 yards per outing. He was named a team captain and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2013.

Linsley was selected in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFL Draft. In 2017, Linsley signed a three-year, $25.5 million contract extension with the Packers after starting all 16 games at center that season.

Jacoby Boren (2012-2015)

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The success of the three quarterbacks that helped get the team to the 2014 National Championship can be attributed partially to Jacoby Boren, who was the starting center that year. Younger brother to Zach (starter in 2009-12) and Justin Boren (starter in 2009-10), Jacoby followed in his brothers’ footstep, earning multiple varsity letters from Ohio State despite being the son of former Michigan football player.

As Eric Seger for Eleven Warriors wrote, Boren “manhandled” Alabama’s elite defensive line in the 2015 Sugar Bowl, allowing for 281 rushing yards, which was about 100 more than the Crimson Tide was used to giving up that season.

Boren was named a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and two-time Academic All-American. He was also a finalist for the Walter V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the country.

Pat Elflein (2016)

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Here’s where the overlap takes place in terms of deciding our All-Decade offensive guard and center. Elflein started at guard for all of 2014 and 2015, and did so well that he’s up for our offensive guard category as well. Now we look at his senior year, when he took over at center after Jacoby Boren left.

After his first and only year playing center at Ohio State, Elflein was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, a unanimous All-American, an Outland Trophy finalist (awarded to the nation’s best interior lineman), and was the Rimington Trophy winner in 2016. He also served as a team captain that year.

He and former Ohio State safety Malik Hooker were the first pair of Buckeye teammates to be named consensus All-Americans in the same year since Orlando Pace and Eddie George in 1995.

Elflein was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and started immediately at center.

Billy Price (2017)

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Once again, Billy Price was an impressive lineman at both guard and center, earning him nominations for both positions.

Coming out of high school, Price was a four-star recruit as a tackle. He switched to guard after asking Urban Meyer if he could change positions. Price won the starting job immediately, and started at guard in all 15 games on the national champion team in 2014. He started the next two years at guard until his final season when he switched to center after Elflein left for the NFL.

Like his predecessor, Price was named a unanimous All-American, B1G Offensive Lineman of the Year, and Rimington winner after helping the offense gather more than 3,000 rushing yards in 2017.

Price was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft and was named to the All-Rookie Team following the 2018 season.

Remember, since we are limited to four options on Twitter polls, some other great Buckeyes will get left out of some of these polls. If you want to tell us how wrong we are for leaving your favorite player out, or if you want to make your case for one of the candidates, please feel free to do so in the comments below!

Which Buckeye center should be on Ohio State’s All-Decade team?