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. 55, Cincinnati La Salle
Qualification
Five players from La Salle have been listed on 15 Ohio State rosters. Fullback Mike Schneider was the first Lancer to be listed on an Ohio State roster. As a sophomore in 1976, he severely sprained an ankle just before the start of the season and did not seeing playing time until the sixth game. Schneider's Ohio State career came to an end after his junior season. At La Salle, he was an All-Ohioan and All-American. Schneider rushed for 1,187 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior and had 36 career touchdowns.
WR DeVier Posey (2009-11) at La Salle, Posey earned All-Ohio honors after hauling in 47 passes for 770 yards and 7 touchdowns. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and won the Maxwell Award. When he left La Salle, Posey held the school record in the 200 (21.5) and 400 (47.78) meters.
Posey had to miss the first five games of his senior season due to his involvement in "Tatgate" and was suspended additional games for getting overpaid for a summer job. During his time at Ohio State, he was known for his big plays and good hands. He only played in four games during his suspended shortened senior season and caught 12 passes for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns. To put that in perspective, Posey hauled in 113 passes for 1,676 for 15 touchdowns in his sophomore and junior seasons.
LB Joe Burger (2012-16) started his Ohio State career as a preferred walk-on and ended it as a scholarship player. He earned four varsity letters and was a leader on the team. Burger played in every game his sophomore and junior seasons. Ohio State trailed Indiana by seven points in 2015 and Burger's three-yard tackle for loss on the Hoosiers' punter during a fake punt was a key to the Buckeyes' comeback victory. He played in 8 games as a senior and recorded 14 tackles.
In high school, Burger was a team captain and All-Ohioan. He made 103 tackles, 5 sacks and an interception as a senior. His dad, Bob, and brother, Bobby, played for Notre Dame.
P Drue Chrisman (2016-18) averaged 44.2 yards per punt during his redshirt freshman season. He was named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award and was third-team All-Big Ten for his punting prowess. Chrisman also had 25 of his 51 punts downed inside the 20 and 15 fly over 50 yards during his first season. Through two seasons, he has 112 punts and has averaged 43.2 yards per boot.
Off the field, Chrisman is known for his bottle flipping and creative way for proposing to his girlfriend. Coming out of La Salle, he was the No. 1 punting prospect. Chrisman won two state titles with the Lancers and was an All-Ohioan during his senior season.
LB Hayden Jester (2017-18) was a preferred walk-on in 2016, but did not make the roster that season. Entering the 2018 season, he was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten member and a two-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete. Played with Chrimsan at La Salle and made the All-District team.
Back To School
La Salle is located in Hamilton County and is a member of the Greater Catholic League South. The team currently competes in Division II, Region 8. The Lancers had their four-year playoff streak snapped by finishing 4–5 in 2018. After starting the season 4–1, La Salle lost its last four games. During the school's playoff run, the Lancers won the program's only state titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Notable
Besides the three state titles in football, La Salle also has state championships in basketball (2011 and 1996), track (2011 and 1994) and cross country (2006 and 2005). The cross country team is also known as "The Big Red Express" and has won district, sectional and city titles in every season since 1993.
In 2007, the school collected a record 76,000 cans of food for Little Sister of the Poor in Clifton.
Famous Alumni
Famous names you may know: NFL players Brent Celek, Jerry Doerger, Mark Fischer, Don Hasselbeck, Dave LaFary, Daryl Meadows and Chris Smith. MLB players Zach Day, Sam McConnell and Tim Naehring and former Cincinnati Bearcat basketball coach Mick Cronin who is now with UCLA.
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 |
2,780 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
146 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.
