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. 68, Westerville Central
Qualification
Four players from Westerville Central have been listed on 13 Ohio State rosters. The first Warhawk on a Buckeye roster was Ben Buchanan. The punter played in Columbus from 2009 through 2012. After limited experience as a freshman, Buchanan took over the punting duties in 2010. He finished his Buckeye career with 177 punts for 7,286 yards and averaged 41.2 yards per punt. In the classroom, Buchanan made the Academic All-Big Ten Team four times.
At Westerville Central, Buchanan set an OHSAA record with five field goals in a single game and was named a U.S Army and USA Today All-American. Today, you can see him on the pre and post-game show The Football Fever on Channel 6.
Onesiaum Glass has one of the most unique names for an Ohio State player. The walk-on running back only made one roster (2009). Another walk-on player from Westerville Central was Jared Drake. The linebacker, who also worked on long snapping, was on the team from 2015-17. Drake was a five-sport athlete in high school and was an All-Ohioan and the Columbus Dispatch's 2013 metro player of the year after he threw for 2,454 yards and 26 touchdowns, rushed for 640 yards and 8 scores.
Nick Vannett played tight end at Ohio State from 2011 through 2015. He caught 55 passes for 585 yards and 6 touchdowns during his five seasons as a Buckeye. The numbers aren't jaw-dropping, but they were good enough for the Seahawks to select him in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Vannett has 44 receptions for 425 and 4 touchdowns over three seasons with Seattle.
At Westerville Central, Vannett earned All-Ohio, All-Metro, All-OCC and All-District honors as a senior.
Back To School
Westerville Central is located in Delaware County and is a member of the Ohio Capital Conference. The team currently competes in Division I, Region 2. The Warhawks went 5-5 during the regular season in 2018, but still qualified for the playoffs. They traveled to Dublin Coffman and lost 27-10 in the first round. Westerville Central opened in 2003 and has made the playoffs five times, the first appearance being in 2013.
Notable
Westerville Central's boys' bowling team won a state title in 2017.
Famous Alumni
A famous name you may know: Benny Snell, a Kentucky running back and 2019 fourth round NFL Draft selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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 |
2,767 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
159 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.
