Hall of Fame Inductees
- Induction:
- 2022
Shawn Springs is one of the great cornerbacks in Ohio State history. In his junior season of 1996, he was one of the dominant players in college football and was named the Big Ten Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year despite not recording an interception all season. Teams simply chose not to throw at Springs, who still led the team with a then-school record 15 pass break-ups and 39 tackles. He was a consensus All-American that year as well and was named First Team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive year.
Springs was a three-year starter for the Buckeyes and played in 37 games. He totaled 152 career tackles, including 112 solo stops, and 24 pass break-ups along with six interceptions. His 24 pass break-ups total was a school record and it still ranks sixth in school history.
Springs was selected in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft, the No. 3 pick overall, by the Seattle Seahawks. Springs is the highest drafted cornerback in school history, tied with Jeff Okudah, who was the No. 3 overall pick of the first round in the 2019 NFL Draft, by Detroit.
