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. 8, Dublin Coffman
Qualification
16 players from Dublin Coffman have been listed on 52* Ohio State rosters.
HB Vince Workman (1985-88) finished his Buckeye career with 1,882 rushing yards and 13 TDs. He also caught 54 passes for 584 yards and 2 TDs. As a junior, he led the team in rushing with 470 yards and kick off returns by averaging 21.4 yards an attempt. Workman was also second on the team in receiving with 26 catches for 354 yards.
He was voted a captain during his senior season of 1988. However, he was only able to play in the first two games before it was found out that he signed with an agent in the spring of 1987. After Workman admitted to signing with the agent, he was dismissed from the team. The Packers from selected him in the 5th round of the 1989 NFL Draft. Workman was Green Bay's starting running back in 1992 when Brett Favre made his NFL debut.
In high school, he was a two-time All-Ohioan and was an All-American as a senior. During his final year, Workman rushed for 1,793 yards and 31 touchdowns. For his high school career, he ran for 4,070 yards and 68 touchdowns. He still has all of the schools rushing records except for one.
OL Mike Adams (2008-11) 25 career starts over his five years in Columbus. Had to miss the first five games of the 2011 season due to "tat-gates". The Steelers selected Adams in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Dublin Coffman went 13–1 and made it to the state semifinals with Adams on the team. He was an All-Ohioan his junior and senior season. He also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and as named to the USA Today All-USA team.
WR Jake Stoneburner (2008-12) led the team in 2011 with 11 receptions. Played in 48 games and started 23. Finished his Ohio State career as the all-time leader in touchdowns for a tight end with 13.
In high school, Stoneburner was a two-time All-Ohioan and set many school receiving records. He finished his high school career with 168 receptions for 2,751 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also lettered in basketball and track.
WR CJ Saunders (2016-Today) walked-on to the team in 2016 as a corner back. In 2017 he switched to wide receiver and has steadily worked his way up the depth chart. He earned a scholarship in the spring of 2018 and made the Big Ten All-Academic team in 2017 and 2018. Last year, Saunders played in 11 of the Buckeyes' 14 games and had 10 catches for 73 yards. On Tuesday, he was named one of the seven captains for this year's team.
At Dublin Coffman, Saunders earned all-conference and all-district honors in football, basketball and baseball. He was also a captain for each team as a senior.
| No. | POS | PLAYER | YEARS | OHIO STATE CAREER | HS CAREER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | LB | CHARLES SIMON | 1974-76 | Missed his junior season due to knee surgery and a blood clot, almost died in Nov. 1974 and lost 45 pounds, the only game he played was as a senior after he overcame his hardships. | All-Ohioan, |
| 95 | LB | BRIAN LEWIS | 1977 | Nothing listed. | Nothing listed. |
| 34, 42 | HB | VINCE WORKMAN | 1985-88 | See above. | See above. |
| 38 | P/K | MIKE MALFATT | 1993-96 | His name is listed as Matt on the 1994 official roster. Came to Ohio State as a kicker and punter, played in 26 games, 22 of the games as a sophomore and junior and only 4 his senior season, was used primarily for kickoffs and long FGs. | All-Ohioan as a punter and named to an All-American by USA Today, won state title in volleyball in 1992. |
| 53 | FB | ERIC SCHMIDLIN | 1993 | Nothing listed. | Nothing listed |
| 7 | WR | DUANE CROOKS | 1999-00 | Walked-on and made the roster in 1999, played in 9 games primarily on special teams as a freshman, did not see the field in 2000. | Nothing listed. |
| 46 | LB | FRED PAGAC JR. | 1999-03 | Played in 39 games and started 12. recorded 70 tackles, 6.5 TFL and an INT. | All-Ohioan who combined for 200 tackles over his JR and SR seasons. |
| 64 | OG | ADAM OLDS | 2001-03 | Played in 5 games for 13 minutes as a senior, was on the field for 7 minutes against Bowling Green, missed the 2002 season due to hip surgery. | All-Ohioan, ranked as the No. 1 OL in Ohio by SuperPrep and was a 2x state qualifier in wrestling. |
| 24 | QB | MATT TROMBITAS | 2002 | Nothing listed. | Nothing listed. |
| 73 | OL | STEVE WINNER | 2002-05 | Walked-on in 2001, made the roster in 2002, saw the field in 2 games in 2004, could not find information on 2005 season. | 2-year starter and earned 3 letters. |
| 78 | DE | ALEX BARROW | 2004-07 | Played in 42 games, recorded 16 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 forced fumble during his career. | 2nd team All-Ohioan, recorded 95 tackles, 27 TFL and 14 sacks as a senior. |
| 87, 15 | WR | KYLE RUHL | 2004-08 | Nothing listed. | Nothing listed. |
| 11 | WR/TE | JAKE STONEBURNER | 2008-12 | See above. | See above. |
| 74, 75 | OL | MIKE ADAMS | 2008-11 | See above. | See above. |
| 39 | K | KYLE CLINTON | 2012-14 | Started his college career at Ohio University in 2010, Walked on and made the Buckeye roster in 2012. Had 114 kickoffs and 38 touch backs during the championship season of 2014. | All-Ohioan and was a team captain as a senior. |
| 17, 80 | WR | CJ SAUNDERS | 2016- | See above. | See above. |
* Dublin Coffman's roster count will increase to 54 after Gunnar Hoak and Saunders complete the 2019 season.
Back To School
Dublin Coffman is located in Franklin County and is currently in the Ohio Capital Conference. The team competes in Division I, Region 2. The Shamrocks went 9–1 in the regular season last year and qualified for the playoffs. The team hosted and defeated Westerville Central, 27-10, in the first round. They worked over Whitmer 43-20, but lost to Olentangy Liberty, 21-7, in the Regional Final.
The football program has qualified for the playoffs for ten consecutive seasons.
Notable
Dublin Coffman has won four state championships. The girls' soccer team has two (2003, 2001), baseball one (2001) and the boys' lacrosse team won its first title last spring (2019).
Dublin High School was established in 1973 and was the city's only high school. The building was renamed Dublin Coffman in 1995 when the school was accepted into the OCC and the city had plans to create Dublin Scioto.
Famous Alumni
Famous names you may know: NFL players Brady Quinn, Ikechuku Ndukwe and Chinedum Ndukwe, MLB players Kent Merker and Doug DeVore, 2014 Clemson starting QB and current Morehead State QB coach, Cole Stoudt.
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.
2,827 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
99 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.
If you like Ohio high school football, or want to read about the best teams of the '50s and '60s, you should check out Tim Raab's book: Powerhouses of Ohio High School Football.
