Recruiting is said to be the lifeblood of college football. This series will countdown the top 100 high schools in Ohio that have provided the Buckeyes with football players. The rankings are based on how many times a player from each high school has been listed on Ohio State's roster between 1970 and 2018.
No. 2, Archbishop Moeller
Qualification
18 players from Moeller have been listed on 66 Ohio State rosters.
LB Vic Koegel (1971-73) helped the Buckeyes win back-to-back Big Ten title in 1972 and 1973. He was an All-Big Ten player in 1973 and Ohio State defeated USC in the Rose Bowl that year. Koegel was second on the team his senior season with 96 tackles. He also had 2 TFL and broke-up 4 passes. The Falcons selected him in the 12 round of the 1974 NFL Draft.
At Moeller, Koegel was an All-Ohioan at linebacker and was coached by Gerry Faust. Today, he is president of Koegel Training and Development and senior instructor and consultant for Think Training.
OL Joe Lukens (1979-82) earned All-Big Ten honors in 1980, 1981 and 1982. Lukens was also a captain of the '82 team. He started in 47 of the 48 games played during his four-year career. The only game Lukens missed was the first game of his freshman season. Ohio State won two Big Ten titles during his time in Columbus and went 3–1 in The Game.
The Dolphins selected Lukens in the 11th round of the 1983 NFL Draft. Following his football playing days, he went on to have a successful career off the field. Lukens was co-founder and president of Assured Neace Lukens. The company is ranked in the top 50 largest insurance agencies in the nation, with close to 550 employees in seven states. He also started a sports virtue program called sportsleader.org.
The Crusaders won every game except for one during Luken's four seasons on the squad. He was an All-Ohioan and All-American as a senior. Luken's older brother, Bill, was a captain of the 1976 Ohio State team.
OL Rob Murphy (1995-98) helped Ohio State to a 43–7 record during his time with the team. The Buckeyes won two Big Ten championships (1996, 1998) and won the 1997 Rose Bowl and 1999 Sugar Bowl with Murphy. He was a two-time All-American (1997, 1998) and earned Big Ten honors in 1998.
Was ranked as Ohio's top offensive lineman as a senior in high school and No. 18 in the nation. Also played hockey for three years and wrestled as a senior for Moeller.
DE Sam Hubbard (2014-17) came to Ohio State as a five-star safety, but was moved to the defensive line early in his career. The switch proved to be a good one as the skilled player was USA Today Freshman All-American and later became a third round draft pick of the Bengals in the 2018 NFL Draft. Hubbard was a captain of the 2017 team and made the Academic All-Big Ten team three times (2015, 2016, 2017) and was also an Academic All-American in 2017.
The Buckeyes won the 2014 national championship, three Big Ten East titles and two Big Ten championships during Hubbard's career. Ohio State also went undefeated in The Game with Hubbard on the squad.
Hubbard was an All-Ohioan at safety for Moeller and was ranked as Ohio's No. 1 player and had a five-star ranking. The Crusaders won back-to-back state titles during Hubbard's junior and senior seasons. He was also a standout player in lacrosse.
| No. | POS | PLAYER | YEARS | OHIO STATE CAREER | HS CAREER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | FB | RANDY KEITH | 1971-73 | Played in 22 games as a sophomore and junior, rushed fro 344 yards and 4 TDs in 1972, did not see the field in 1973, | Rushed for 1,150 yards and 26 TDs as a senior. |
| 62 | LB | VICTOR KOEGEL | 1971-73 | See above. | See above. |
| 56 | OT | STEVE KOEGEL | 1973-75 | Played in 6 games for 7.5 minutes. | Nothing listed. |
| 10, 51 | LB/DT/OL | MARK LANG | 1974-77 | Started at defensive tackle in 1976 and was moved to offensive guard where he started all 12 games in 1977. | All-Ohioan who played RB and LB. |
| 77, 80 | OT/TE | GREGORY STORER | 1974-77 | Caught 3 passes for 52 yards as a senior, played in 34 career games. | All-Ohioan at OT. |
| 72 | OL | JOE LUKENS | 1979-82 | See above. | See above. |
| 58 | C | JOSEPH APKE | 1980-81 | Played in 3 games for 6 minutes in 1980. | All-Ohioan and All-American at center, captain of the football and basketball teams, earned 10 varsity letters. |
| 50 | OG, C | TIM ODOM | 1982-85 | Played in 13 games as a Buckeye. | All-Ohioan and All-American at guard, team won 2 state championships and went 38–1 during his 3 years on the team. |
| 61 | OL | JACK THRUSH | 1989-93 | Started all 12 games during his senior year and played in 38 games during his career. | All-Ohioan and team captain of the football team. |
| 82 | TE | MAX LANGENKAMP | 1992-94 | Entering his senior year, he had only played in 1 game, saw action in 12 of 13 games in 1994 and had 1 catch for 11 yards. | All-City player as a senior, had 10 receptions for 200 yards as a senior, also played basketball and baseball. |
| 23 | HB/FB | MATT KELLER | 1995-99 | A captain of the 1999 team and had 30 career starts, had 16 carries for 61 yards as a senior. | Rushed for 1,116 yards and 15 TDs during his senior year, team was state runner-up his junior season. |
| 56 | OL | ROB MURPHY | 1995-98 | See above. | See above. |
| 80 | TE | RYAN HAMBY | 2001-05 | 2-year starter at TE, finished his career with 45 receptions for 482 yards and 5 TDs, I wish he had 1 more catch and 1 more TD. | Was a standout in both football and basketball, won a state title with on the hard court. |
| 49 | LB/FB | RYAN LUKENS | 2004-08 | 2x Academic All-Big Ten (2008, 2007), had 8 career tackles. | All-Cincinnati and 2nd team All-Ohio, was captain of the team, also won the state wrestling tournament at 189 pounds as a junior. |
| 16, 19 | QB/LB | ROSS OLTORIK | 2009, 2012 | walked-on as a QB in 2008 and made the roster in 2009, earned a scholarship for baseball and left the football team before returning as a LB in 2012. | Nothing listed. |
| 88, 6 | DE | SAM HUBBARD | 2014-17 | See above. | See above. |
| 25 | CB | LOGAN KELLEHER | 2016 | Walked on in the winter of 2015, made the roster in 2016. | All-City and All-Greater Catholic League player, won state titles in 2012 and 2013. |
| 81 | TE | JAKE HAUSMANN | 2016- | Earned a letter in 2018 and has played in 14 games during his first 3 seasons, Academic All-Big Ten in 2018. | Had 95 catches for 1,349 yards and 17 TDs during his HS career, All-Ohioan as a senior. |
*Moeller will bump up to 67 roster spots when Hausmann completes the 2019 season.
Back To School
Moeller is located in Hamilton County and is in the Greater Catholic League. The team competes in Division I, Region 4. The Crusaders went 6–4 in the regular season last year. They traveled to Elder in the first round of the playoffs and lost 35-0.
The football program has won 9 state championships (2013, 2012, 1985, 1982, 1980, 1979, 1977, 1976, 1975). The team won 5 national championships during the '70s and '80s and coach Gerry Faust left the program to become head coach of Notre Dame in 1981.
Notable
Moeller has won 24 OHSAA state championships and 12 non-OHSAA state titles. The football program's nine state championships is the most in the school, baseball (2015, 2013, 2012, 2009, 2004, 1993, 1989, 1972) and volleyball* (2018, 2012, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 1998, 1997) have eight, basketball has five (2019, 2018, 2007, 2003, 1999), lacrosse three (2017, 1993*, 1992*), and ultimate frisbee* (2018), golf (2014) and rugby* (2010) have one.
*non-OHSAA sport.
Famous Alumni
Famous names you may know: NFL players Steve Apke, Bob Crable, Tony Hunter, Greg Huntington, Greg Jones, Michael Munoz, Ricco Murray, Steve Niehaus, Matt Tennant, Tom Waddle and Doug Williams, NCAA football coaches Russ Huesman and Greg Hudson, MLB players Buddy Bell, David Bell, Mike Bell, Andrew Brackman, Adam Hyzdu, Stephen Larkin, Bill Long, Len Matuszek, Eric Surkamp, Brent Suter and Alex Wimmers, NBA player Jackson Hayes (Xavier's all-time leading scorer) Byron Larkin, Speaker of the House, John Boehner, the "Voice of the Buckeyes", Paul Keels, MLB Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr.
Explanation of the Rankings
School "A" had 14 players appear 16 times on Ohio State's roster. School "B" had 11 players appear 20 times on Ohio State's roster. School "B" will have the higher ranking. Why? Even though school "B" has less players, those players played for more years.
If two or more schools have the same number of appearances, the tie will be broken by the school with the highest average of roster appearances per player. If there is a tie in the average, the tie breaker will be the school with the most prominent Ohio State player.
2,833 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
93 days until The Game.
Are you a former player, graduate, live near or have something to add about today's featured high school? Please share your story with us in the comments. What makes the 11W community unique is the amount of great information everybody is willing to share.
If you like Ohio high school football, or want to read about the best teams of the '50s and '60s, you should check out Tim Raab's book: Powerhouses of Ohio High School Football.
