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. 19, Cincinnati Colerain
Qualification
8 players from Colerain have been listed on 28* Ohio State rosters.
OL Joe Smith (1978-82) began his Ohio State career as a defensive lineman, but was switched to the offensive side of the ball. He was named to the Academic All-American Team once and the Academic All-Big Team twice. Smith played in 36 games and started 25 between his sophomore and senior seasons. He started the first five games of 1982 before and injury cost him the rest of his senior year.
At Colerain, Smith was an All-Ohioan and the Southwest Lineman of the Year as a senior. He earned letters in football, basketball and track and was the captain of the football and track teams.
LB Tyler Moeller (2006-11) was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree twice. His career was marked with injuries. Moeller missed the 2009 season due to an assault and brain injury, he then missed time in 2010 with a torn pectoral muscle. In all, Moeller played in 41 games and had 90 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2 INTs and 1 sack.
Moeller was the 2005 DI Defensive Player of the Year, Southwest District Player of the Year and won the state title in 2004.
S Amir Riep (2017-present) Played in 12 games last year and all 14 games as a true freshman. To date, he has mainly seen field on special teams. He has taken 59 snaps in the secondary and recorded 12 tackles and an interception.
Riep received 40 scholarship offers and was a Top 25 cornerback. He helped Colerain to its 17 straight Greater Miami Conference championship and was the Greater Miami Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
| No. | POS | PLAYER | YEARS | OHIO STATE CAREER | HS CAREER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | DT/OL | JOE SMITH | 1978-82 | See above. | See above. |
| 76 | OT | JEFFERSON KELLEY | 1996-97 | Had his Ohio State career cut short due to a serious shoulder injury. Graduated with a 3.8 GPA. | Rated as the No. 1 offensive lineman in the country, led Colerain to a 25–1 record. 2-time All-Ohioan and Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year. |
| 26 | LB | TYLER MOELLER | 2006-11 | See Above. | See Above. |
| 77 | OL | CONNOR SMITH | 2006-10 | Played in 46 games for 143 minutes, but never started for the Buckeyes. Earned 4 varsity letters. | 2005 Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year, went 15–0 and won the 2004 state title, All-Ohioan twice, 2005 Greater Miami Conference Offensive Player of the Year. |
| 32 | DB | EUGENE CLIFFORD | 2007-08 | Played 4 games in 2007. His Buckeye career ended in 2008 when he was charged with punching employees at a sports bar. Transferred to Tennessee State. | Parade All-American, 2006 DI Defensive Player of the Year, 2 INTs in the Army All-American Bowl, won state title as a senior. |
| 48 | FB/TE | SPENCER SMITH | 2007-11 | Walked-on in 2007, had a 23-yard TD catch in the 2010 win over Purdue, Academic All-Big Ten. | Captain as a senior, All-Greater Miami Conference, on the 2004 state title team. |
| 58 | LS | NICK PIENING | 2010 | A preferred walk-on in 2010. | No information. |
| 10 | DB | AMIR RIEP | 2017-18 | See above. | See above. |
*Note, Colerain's roster count will increase to 29 after Riep completes the 2019 season.
Back To School
Colerain is located in Hamilton County and is currently in the Greater Miami Conference. The team competes in Division I, Region 4. The Cardinals went 10–0 in the regular season last year and finished as state runner-up and a 14–1 record. Colerain defeated St. Xavier, Milford, Elder and Pickerington Central before losing to St. Edward, 24-10, in the championship game.
Colerain has qualified for the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons and 17 times since 2000. Surprisingly, 2004 is the only year the noted program has captured a state title. The championship team's head coach later became to Ohio State fans for his supposed consumption of Red Bull.
Notable
Colerain has won 6 state titles. Girls' cross country has four (2000. 1999, 1998, 1997), boys' cross country (1978) and the football championship mentioned above.
Former Ohio State secondary coach, Kerry Coombs, was the former head coach of Colerain.
Famous Alumni
Famous names you may know: NFL players BJ Askew, Eric Kattus and Tegray Scales, MLB pitcher Roger McDowell, Arena Football player Dominick Goodman, American artistic gymnastics coach Mary Lee Tracy and Former Ohio State assistant defensive coordinator, cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator, Kerry Coombs, is a Colerain graduate and as noted above, was the head coach of his alma mater for 16 years.
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.
2,816 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
110 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.
