Rod Gerald

Gerald attended South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, Texas, where he was named as an all-Texas quarterback. He was recruited heavily by several schools in the Southern Conferences and strongly considered signing with Tennessee. Following a trip to Columbus, Ohio, for the annual Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry, he was recruited by Woody Hayes to sign with the Ohio State Buckeyes.^[1]

As a freshman, Gerald was behind Cornelius Greene in the depth chart. While he did see some on-field action, his production was limited to 16 rushing attempts and two passing attempts. He did manage to rush for three touchdowns in his debut season.^[2] In his sophomore season, Gerald became the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes. He started the season off 4-1-1 and ranked in the top ten in the nation. During the first quarter in the game against Purdue, Gerald was carted off the field after he injured his back. The diagnosis was that he had fractured three transverse processes in his spine, which sidelined him for the next four games. He returned as the starter for the 1977 Orange Bowl, where the No. 11 Buckeyes defeated No. 12 Colorado 27–10. Gerald was named 1977 Orange Bowl MVP.

In Gerald's junior season, he once again took over the starting role. He finished the season 9–3 with losses coming to No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 5 Michigan and in the 1978 Sugar Bowl to No. 3 Alabama. The Buckeyes were co-Big Ten Champions with a conference record of 7–1. He was named to the all-Big Ten team for his accomplishments.^[3]

The 1978 season saw Freshman phenom Art Schlichter join the team. It was with the addition of Schlichter that Gerald lost his starting spot. In order to maintain a starting spot, Gerald transitioned to wide receiver for his final year. That year ended with Ohio State finishing 7–4–1 and losing to No. 7 Clemson in the 1978 Gator Bowl. It was in this game where Woody Hayes punched an opposing player and was ultimately Hayes' last game as Ohio State's coach.