Column: What happens when you have 4.5 former Buckeyes on the Bengals?

It’s always better when someone else sings your praises. It’s a much more authentic testimonial, say, than when you talk about yourself. But what happens when the spokespeople are… unexpected?

Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals won the AFC Championship as underdogs over the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning champs of the conference. Key to the game were four (or five, depending on how you look at it) former players from Ohio State. These players are not the typical types hyped in pitches to prospective recruits, though. They’re not the Nick and Joey Bosas of the world, or Justin Fields or Michael Thomas or Marshon Lattimore.

Instead, they’re something of a band of misfits. While their careers at…