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. 32, Thomas Worthington
Qualification
11 players from Thomas Worthington have been listed on 22 Ohio State rosters.
| No. | POS | PLAYER | YEARS | OHIO STATE CAREER | HS CAREER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QB | BOB ATHA | 1979-81 | See below. | See below. |
| 36, 9 | K | TIM MARSH | 1983-84 | Back-up kicker for 2 seasons. Did not score. | Nothing listed. |
| 83 | WR | DAVE WAGNER | 1983 | On the roster for 1 season. | Nothing listed. |
| 84, 83, 21 | WR/HB | KEVIN DELANEY | 1983-85 | A walk-on who rushed for 30 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 carries as a senior. As a junior, he played in 3 games and scored against Washington State and Indiana. | Played HB, WR and CB and rushed for 811 yards as a senior, also had 115 receiving yards. |
| 22, 37 | HB | HAYDEN HUMPHREY | 1985-86 | On the roster for 2 seasons.. | Nothing listed. |
| 9 | K | MIKE MORTON | 1987 | On the roster for 1 season. | Nothing listed. |
| 86, 3 | WR | DIMITRIOUS STANLEY | 1993-96 | See below. | See below. |
| 13 | QB | STEVE GEHLERT | 1997 | On the roster for 1 season. | Nothing listed. |
| 36 | S | J.R. NIKLOS | 1998 | Considered a fine athlete who was also a sprinter on the track team. Red-shirted in 1997 and was on the roster for 1 season. | Standout student athlete. |
| 26, 92 | P | ANDREW SCHABO | 1999-01 | Backup punter and tight end. Walked-on in 1998, | All-Conference quarterback and also punted. |
QB Bob Atha (1979-81) played quarterback and wide receiver. He was also used for kickoffs, field goals and extra points. The versatile athlete also scored on a 63-yard TD run against MSU in 1980, the Buckeyes' longest play from scrimmage that year. Atha was a walk-on and made 6 of his 9 field goal attempts as a freshman.
The Cardinals selected Atha as a kicker in the 12th round of the 1982 NFL Draft.
WR Dimitrious Stanley (1993-96) was on two Big Ten title winning teams and the Buckeyes went 41–8–1 with him on the team.
From Stanley's senior bio in the 1996 Team Guide:
Played behind All-American Terry Glenn last year and hopes to take over as the starter this year...spent time at both flanker and split end in the spring and will probably play both in the fall...runs precise routes, adjusts well to the ball, has good hands and quickness and is an elusive runner after he catches the ball.
His TD grab just before halftime against Notre Dame (on which he made a great adjustment while the ball was in the air) ranks as one of the most memorable plays of the season and gave Ohio State a shot of adrenaline going into the locker room.
Made an equally important, but much less publicized, play at Penn State when he fielded a punt on the dead run and returned it eight yards to set up the Buckeyes' winning touchdown (had he let the ball bounce, the Buckeyes would have started from deep in their own territory instead of the OSU 42).
After his Ohio State days, Stanley played in the NFL, CFL and AFL. He also was a host on WSYX's Buckeye Football Fever and was on 97.1 The Fan.
At Thomas Worthington, Stanley was an All-Ohian and average 6.2 yards per carry and scored 16 touchdowns as a senior. He rushed for over 2,600 yards as a junior and senior.
Back To School
Thomas Worthington is located in Franklin County and is currently in the Ohio Capital Conference. The team competes in Division I, Region 2. The Cardinals went 3–7 last year. The program has been a bit of a slide. The last time Thomas Worthington had a winning season was in 1999 when the team went 7–3.
Notable
Thomas Worthington has won 34 state titles. The girls' gymnastics (1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985) and girls' swimming (1989, 1981, 1980, 1978, 1977) lead the way with 5 championships, boys' lacrosse has 4 titles (1996, 1991, 1990, 1989), boys' water polo (2017, 2003, 2002), boys' track (2017, 1999, 1997) girls' field hockey (2011, 2007, 1988), boys' soccer (2001, 1998, 1991) and boys' golf (1983, 1978, 1938) have 3, girls' cross country (1992, 1989) has 2 and boys' gymnastics (1987), boys' baseball (1981) and boys' cross country (1967) each have one.
Famous Alumni
Famous names you may know: Actor, and Ohio State fan, J.K. Simmons, actress Rachael Harris, Actor Jack Plotnick, cartoonists Jeff Smith (Bone) and Jim Kammerud (Disney), Ohio State assistant basketball coach Frank Truitt, NYC television anchor Dana Tyler, senior national correspondent for Good Morning America, Claire Shipman, middle distance runner Molly Ludlow, MLS soccer player Troy Perkins and NBA coach Bob Hill.
Actress Maggie Grace briefly attended Thomas Worthington, but left school after he acting career took off.
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.
2,802 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
124 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.
