Forty years ago Earle Bruce inherited a roster full of guys who had signed up to play football for someone else.
Earle had returned to the alma mater he tried to drop out of as a student 28 seasons earlier when his re-injured knee ended his playing career. He had to appreciate what his inherited roster was experiencing back in 1979, because he had been in the same orphaned predicament 28 years earlier.
He too had come to Ohio State to play for someone else. Wes Fesler, who had recruited him out of Maryland, had slipped out Columbus following the Snow Bowl debacle - despite only being one season removed from a Rose Bowl victory and having the reigning Heisman winner (!