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. 73, Garfield
Qualification
Four players from Garfield have been listed on 12 Ohio State rosters. The first Golden Ram to make a Buckeye roster is considered one of the best at his position. Antoine Winfield (1995-98) was the Division I Defensive Player of the Year his senior season at Garfield. The honors and accolades continued for him at Ohio State.
Winfield was named a captain for the 1998 Buckeyes. He was a Team MVP for the '97 squad and earned All-American and Big Ten honors in both 1997 and 1998. He also won the Jim Thorpe Award and Jack Tatum Trophy in 1998. In 2014, Winfield was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Bills selected Winfield with the 23rd pick of the 1999 NFL Draft.
Garfield produced two more players for the Buckeyes before sending another player for the ages to Columbus. Defensive backs Charles Parnell and De'angelo Haslam have the honor of being sandwiched between Winfield and Chris "Beanie" Wells. Parnell was a walk-on and was listed on the 2000 roster, and Haslam was a career reserve from 2004-07.
Beanie Wells was on the team for three years. In that time, he was named team MVP twice ('07, '08) and surprisingly only made first team All-Big Ten once. The large and powerful running back was 3-0 in The Game, won three Big Ten titles and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors twice ('07, '08).
Beanie was the Wolverine killer. In 2007, he rushed for an Ohio State record 222 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' victory. In his final game in the rivalry, Wells helped Ohio State soundly defeat Michigan, 42-7. In 2008 he rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries and scored on a 59-yard touchdown run. In those two games, Wells rushed for 356 yards and three touchdowns and etched his name in Ohio State lore.
At Garfield, Wells was a 2006 Parade All-American and was named the best running back in the nation. His senior season, Wells rushed for 2,134 yards, 27 touchdowns and averaged 9.6 yards per carry. As a junior he totaled 1,939 yards, 20 touchdowns and was named the 2005 National Player of the Year.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Beanie in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. At the conclusion of his football career, Wells joined 97.1 The Fan. In the spring of 2018, he revealed that he believed his football career caused brain trauma and the he was taking a break from his radio career.
Four years ago, Antoine Winfield was No. 16 and Beanie Wells was No. 50 on the Top 100 Ohio State Players Countdown.
Back To School
Garfield High School closed in 2017. It was located in Summit County and was a member of the Akron City Series. The team competed in Division II, Region 5 and made its last playoff appearance in 2004. The Golden Rams lost at Copley, 21-27, in the first round.
Notable
Due to the funding of the Firestone family, the school was originally going to be called Firestone High School. However, the Ku Klux Klan held a majority vote on the school board and decided that all new Akron Public Schools would be named after former US Presidents. The Firestone family was not pleased and rescinded its funding for the school. In 1926, Garfield High School was dedicated.
At the start of the 2017 school year, Garfield merged with Kenmore High School to become Kenmore-Garfield High School.
Famous Alumni
Some famous names you may know: MLB player Ron Negray, Navy and NFL coach Rick Forzano, NFL players Dave Brown, Thomas Lewis and Whitney Mercilus and actor Ray Wise.
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.
| 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 |
2,760 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
165 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.
