A World's Strongest man, Kayla Varner's baseball playing husband, Ohio State legends: 'ESPN GameDay' pickers

The first guest picker on ESPN's "College GameDay" was NBA legend Charles Barkley. He appeared on the Oct. 2, 2004 show in Knoxville, Tenn. as the Volunteers faced No. 8 Auburn, who Barkley played for in college.

The segment didn't become a weekly part of the show until 2009, when Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame baseball player Chipper Jones appeared on the Sept. 5 episode of "College GameDay."

The next week, on Sept. 12, 2009, Ohio State legend Santonio Holmes, then with the Pittsburgh Steelers, became the first celebrity guest picker during a "GameDay" broadcast live from Columbus.

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Former Ohio State athletes have been the norm when it comes to celebrity guest pickers when the pregame show arrives in Columbus.

What will happen this week?

The pregame show will return to Ohio State's campus this weekend and one question will be: Who will be the guest picker before Ohio State plays Michigan State?

Well, that won't be revealed until Friday or Saturday, but we can look at the past to try and figure who could be selected.

Here's every guest picker when GameDay came to Columbus

Their record of their picks are in parentheses

• Sept. 12, 2009: Santonio Holmes (5-4)

• Nov. 13, 2010: Derek Poundstone (6-4)

• Nov. 21, 2015: Archie Griffin (4-6)

• Nov. 26, 2016: Orlando Pace (7-3)

• Sept. 9, 2017: Eddie George (6-4)

• Oct. 28, 2017: Jack Nicklaus (5-5)

• Nov. 24, 2018: Bryce Harper (11-2)

• Nov. 23, 2019: Eddie George (9-3)

Why was Bryce Harper the guest picker for the Ohio State-Michigan game?

Harper, the All-Star outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, was a free agent in November 2018 and was the guest picker for the Ohio State-Michigan game.

The Nevada native picked Ohio State to win. Why? Because Harper is married to former Ohio State soccer player Kayla Varner.

"My wife would kick me out of the house if I picked Michigan," he said on the show.

He went 11-2 in picks.

Who is Derek Poundstone?

Poundstone was the second-place finisher in the 2008 World's Strongest Man competition.

Columbus is home to the Arnold Classic, which hosts the Arnold Strongman Classic every year. Poundstone, who is a police officer in Connecticut, has competed in the event.

Will Eddie George return?

It's unlikely Eddie George will make his third appearance in Columbus because the Heisman Trophy-winning Buckeye has already served as guest picker in 2021.

He made an appearance Charlotte, N.C. on Sept. 4 before the Georgia-Clemson game.

Also, he's working.

George is the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers and currently 5-5 this season. The Tigers play their final regular season game on Saturday at against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.

How many times has Ohio State won after hosting 'GameDay?'

Ohio State is 14-5 in games that followed the on-campus show.

The last loss came in 2017 when Baker Mayfield threw for 386 yards against Ohio State and won 31-16.

That's the same game Mayfield tried to plant the Oklahoma flag at midfield. Note: The Buckeyes play on a field turf, so it didn't really work.

Ohio State won its first seven games when hosting "GameDay."

Ohio State's record when hosting 'GameDay' in Columbus

Here are the result for every game that followed Ohio State hosting ESPN College "GameDay":

• Oct. 5, 1996: No. 3 Ohio State 38, No, 4 Penn State 7

• Oct. 4, 1997: No. 7 Ohio State 23, No, 8 Iowa 7

• Oct.3, 1998: No. 1 Ohio State 28, No, 7 Penn State 9

• Sept. 12, 2002: No. 6 Ohio State 25, No. 10 Washington State 7

• Nov. 23, 2002: No. 2 Ohio State 14, No. 12 Michigan 9

• Aug. 30, 2003: No. 2 Ohio State 28, No. 17 Washington 9

• Nov. 15, 2003: No. 4 Ohio State 16, No. 11 Purdue 13 (OT)

• Sept. 10, 2005: No. 2 Texas 25, No. 4 Ohio State 22

• Sept. 23, 2006: No. 1 Ohio State 28, No. 24 Penn State 6

• Nov. 18, 2006: No. 1 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Michigan 39

• Oct. 25, 2008: No. 3 Penn State 13, No. 10 Ohio State 6

• Sept. 12, 2009: No. 3 USC 18, No. 8 Ohio State 15

• Nov. 13, 2010: No. 7 Ohio State 38, Penn State 24

• Nov. 21, 2015: No. 9 Michigan State 17, No. 2 Ohio State 14

• Nov. 26, 2016: No. 2 Ohio State 30, No. 3 Michigan 27 (2 OT)

• Sept. 9, 2017: No. 5 Oklahoma 21, No. 2 Ohio State 16

• Oct. 28, 2017: No.6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38

• Nov. 24, 2018: No. 10 Ohio State 62, No. 4 Michigan 39

• Nov. 23, 2019: No. 2 Ohio State 28, No. 9 Penn State 17

The Penn State-Ohio State game has been an "ESPN College GameDay" matchup 11 times, tied for the most in the show's history.

Ohio State-Michigan has been the game six times and Ohio State-Michigan State will make its fifth appearance this weekend.

What's Ohio State's record when a part of ESPN 'College GameDay'?

This is the 51st time Ohio State has been part of the College GameDay Show, either has host or the opponent of the host. Ohio State is 35-15 all-time in those games.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bryce Harper, Jack Nicklaus among former Ohio State GameDay pickers