Mangold was a multi-sport start at Alter and helped the Buckeyes to a national championship as a freshman before spending three seasons as Ohio State’s starting center.
Also nominated for the first time this year are Anquan Boldin, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Jake Long, DeMarcus Ware, Robert Mathis, Vince Wilfork and Antonio Cromartie.
A total of 122 modern era players are nominated this year, a group that will be narrowed down to 25 semifinalists in November and 15 finalists in January.
Other nominees include former Bengals Boomer Esiason, Corey Dillon, Lorenzo Neal, Chad Johnson, Willie Anderson, Justin Smith and Takeo Spikes.
Mangold is vying to be the 10th former Ohio State player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Middletown High School grad Cris Carter, Paul Warfield, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Dick LeBeau, Orlando Pace, Jim Parker, Sid Gillman and Bill Willis already have busts in Canton.
All of them were inducted as players except Gillman, who went in as a coach. He played and coached at Ohio State before becoming a head coach at the professional level.
Also representing the Buckeyes in Canton are Paul Brown, who coached the Buckeyes and later the Browns before founding the Bengals, and NFL Films founder Ed Sabol, who was a swimmer for Ohio State.
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