Q: Now you played defensive back a little bit in
high school?
A: I played both
ways. My tenth-grade year I played both ways the whole game pretty much. My
coach didn’t want me to get hurt. I didn’t play safety as much as I did
previously, but my senior year I had about 10 interceptions and 28 touch downs.
Q: How would you describe your style as a QB if
you played today?
A: I think my style
now fits today’s style of ball. Maybe I might have been before my time. Now, most offenses don’t have a fullback. We ran the I-formation so you only had one
back. I know I’d have been throwing much more than I would have with Coach
Hayes. I know I would’ve been passing more and running the ball more too. I
could’ve been like the kid at Louisville, which reminds me a lot of how I
played.
Q: Now when I watched film of you, you look
fluid out there. A lot of QB’s look like they are thinking.
A: My thing is I ran
for touchdowns, and I didn’t run for first downs. I sit at home watching players today and think I’m in the
end zone by now. I’d make you pay buddy.
Q: Were you starting as the scout team QB your
freshman year?
A: As a freshman, I
was the scout team QB and hated it because I wanted to be up with the rest of
the guys. Later on, after I finished my career, and talking with the defensive
coordinator, I didn’t realize what a good job I was doing to give the defense a
great look. Once I moved up, and started, then I had to go
against the scout team. In my mind, I didn’t care who I faced I had to punish
them and just do the right thing and just be dominant. The scout squad was that team that I was
playing. If it was Minnesota, you had to dog them. You had to do them just like
the team that you were going to play.
Q: Talk a little bit more about you and Archie. Archie
seemed like someone who would give the shirt off his back.
A: We both share the
same personality traits. We both were the 4th child out of 8. Having the nickname of flamboyant and stuff
coming up, seemed like I had a little more out there than he did, but I was
very insecure. You know sports kind of puts you out there to make you a big
person, but Archie and I were very insecure. We kind of liked staying in the
background. We probably knew the answer to the question, but we weren’t the
ones that would raise our hands.
Q: What was Coach Hayes like at the start of
your career?
A: From the
beginning, Woody got on my nerves. It was hard for me to kind of get to him, or
like him, or want to be around him. He was just very tough. My freshman year it
was evident that he was getting to me because I had to get examined by the team
doctor and he told me I was number 5. I’d say, “Nah, Doc. I’m number 7,” and
he’d say, “Nah, you’re the 5th quarterback Woody is giving the
offense to.”
Q: Now Woody seems to me to be colorblind, and
that he ran a meritocracy; that if you are good enough to play you will play.
A: Right. I think
Coach Hayes went through a change of heart during the Martin Luther King era.
People were protesting for civil rights, and equal rights and it just wasn’t
African-Americans out there protesting. It was a little bit of everybody and I think Woody got caught up in that
as well. I think he got caught up in the humanity of life, of how people were
treated and that they weren’t treated properly. Obviously, he broke the color barrier because there never had been an
African-American quarterback. There had never been an all-black backfield ever
in Ohio State’s history when he played me, Pete and Archie at the same time.
Q: Were you the first QB to break the color barrier
in the Big Ten?
A: Dennis Franklin
was a year ahead of me at Michigan. Sandy Stephens quarterbacked in the mid
60’s for the University of Minnesota, so I knew I wasn’t the first one. I knew
Jimmy Raye quarterbacked at Michigan State in 1966, so I knew my history. Jimmy
Raye recruited me and I really wanted to go to Michigan State. My mom used to
send me to Flint, Michigan every summer and when Michigan State recruited me I
thought that was a sign; but I had a horrible recruiting trip at Michigan State
and that really turned me off.
Q: Now I read somewhere that you went to Rod
Gerald’s dad’s church in Dallas.
A: This was amazing
too. When we recruited Rod, I found out that Rod’s father and I had almost the
same name. His name is Cornelius Howard Gerald, and I’m Cornelius Howard Green.
How can that happen? Mr. Gerald ended up baptizing me. My Dallas Cowboy
teammates, when we were down there in Dallas used to visit Reverend Gerald’s
church as well.
Q: Talk about your faith and what it means to
you?
A: My faith is
everything. I was with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Ohio State. We
made Coach Hayes conscious of our spirituality. We wanted to have 10 minutes before a game so that we could meet. He was all for it. We used to have
maybe about twenty players. We would have special meetings where we would just
share our faith and pray and we were very proud of that.
Q: Now you dropped the “E” from the end of Green?
A: 10 percent of my family had “E” on the end of their
names. Of course, that became a family issue when I became famous and put the
name out there. So, I dropped it when I was 30 and my kids have never seen “E”
on the end of their names.
Q: Talk
about the 40th reunion and what it meant to you.
A: Any time you get
back with your guys, you kind of relive your life again. It’s amazing how you
fall back in line, where if I was sophomore that year, then I act like a
sophomore. What a joy it was. As we get older we’ve lost a lot of our teammates,
so its just a blessing to be above dirt and be able to attend and be one of the
guys still representing your team.
Q: What do you think happened in the Iowa game
this year?
A: I think we just
outclassed ourselves. Run that ball and it can keep the crowd out of the game.
We just outdid ourselves; got behind then tried to play catch up. Look how we came out against Michigan State. Yes, we are in a passing era, but come on. We
are known for thee yards and a cloud of dust, and I think we should never get
away from that, especially since we’ve got such great running backs.
Q: Finally, what are your thoughts on JT and his
legacy in particular?
Cornelius continues to follow Coach Hayes teaching of paying it forward at the St. Alban's school in Washington, DC where he is the 8th grade coach for basketball, baseball and football.
Interview With Buckeye Legend Cornelius Green, Part One
Nicholas Jackson
Copyright 2017 Nicholas Jackson - All rights reserved.
Nick is a 1997 graduate of Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio where he received his B.S in Biological Sciences. He went on to receive his Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy at Andrews University in Dayton, Ohio and then his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Chatham University in Pittsburgh. He has been published in the Newark Advocate, The Granville Sentinel, and the St. Louis Metro Voice; and professionally in the Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy. Nick has also been a guest host on 88.9 WLRY and 880AM WRFD
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