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Countdown: 66 Days Until Ohio State Football

Matt Gutridge's picture
June 26, 2019 at 7:35am
11 Comments
Ross

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. 66, Fremont Ross

Qualification

Four players from Fremont Ross have been listed on 13 Ohio State rosters. The most notable being Bob Brudzinski and Derek Isaman. Brudzinski was the first Little Giant to make a Buckeye roster. The defensive end was voted the team's MVP in 1976 and also earned All-American honors that season. The conference placed him on the All-Big Ten team in 1975 and 1976. Ohio State won four Big Ten titles, went to the Rose Bowl three times and had a record of 40-5-2 with Brudzunski on the team.  

In high school, Brudzunski earned a total of nine letters while playing football, basketball and baseball. He was a captain on all three teams, was an All-Ohio end and was named the U.P.I's Lineman of the Year. 

Brudzinski was selected by the Rams in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in '77 and played in three Super Bowls as a linebacker with the Rams and Dolphins. Brudzinski earned a spot on the Ohio State All-Century team in 2000 and the Dolphins' Silver Anniversary team.

In 1988, linebacker Derek Isaman skipped his senior season to try out for the U.S. Olympic boxing team. He was the 1988 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight champion that year and earned a spot as an alternate on the Olympic team. Isaman returned to Ohio State in 1989 where he started at linebacker in 1986 and '87 and was known for his tough, physical play at linebacker.

At Fremont Ross, Isaman was an All-Ohioan and was named to the National High School Coaches Associaiton All-American team at linebacker. At the conclusion of his college football career, Isaman became a professional boxer. He had two bouts in Columbus and retired with a record of 15-1.  

Center/LS John Hutchings (1978-80) and guard John Iams (1991-92) are the other Little Giants to play for Ohio State. Hutchings was the long snapper for the Buckeyes in the late seventies and was very reliable. Hutchings' Fremont Ross teams went 25-3-2. 

Back To School

Fremont Ross is located in Sandusky County and is a member of the Three Rivers Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in Division II, Region 6. The Little Giants went 5-5 in 2018 and the last time the program made the playoffs was 2014. 

Notable

Fremont Ross has eight state titles. The boys' swim team has seven (1953, 1943, 1942, 1941, 1939, 1938, 1936) and the boys' golf team has one (1973).

Famous Alumni

Famous names you may know: NFL players Charles Woodson (yeah, that Charles Woodson), Shawn McCarthy and Rob Lytle, archery silver medalist at the 2012 Olympics Jacob Wukie

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. 

Top 100 Ohio High Schools
100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91
90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81
80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71
70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61
60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51
50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41
40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31
30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2,769 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
157 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.

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of Eleven Warriors unless otherwise noted.

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