Located in a football-rich state, the city of Cincinnati is one of Ohio's hot spots for prep talent. Eleven Warriors recently spent a couple of days in the Queen City and will bring you a series of Ohio State-related stories over the coming weeks. Come along for the ride, won't you?
CINCINNATI — John Rodenberg knows if he has a question, comment or concern, a response from Kerry Coombs is not going to take very long.
“He will get back to me with a text within five minutes,” said Rodenberg, the head coach at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School. “If I text Kerry right now he’ll be back in touch within five minutes. And he’s really honest with me.”
On the surface, it may seem like a minor, unimportant act, but it’s part of what makes Coombs so successful here — and now everywhere — on the recruiting trail. He’s authentic, engaging and, as a result, turned himself into one of college football’s top recruiters.
Coombs got his start in the city of Cincinnati so it’s hardly surprising he’s had so much success recruiting the area since he got to Ohio State in 2012. He was the head coach at Loveland High School for two years before taking over at Cincinnati Colerain in 1991. Coombs then spent 16 years as the Colerain head coach — and won a state championship in 2004 — before he was hired by Brian Kelly at the University of Cincinnati in 2007.
A hotbed within the state’s border for prep talent, Ohio State certainly recruited the Cincinnati area prior to Coombs’ arrival. But the Buckeyes signed at least one player every year since 2012 — and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon with Coombs spearheading the charge.
The relationships Coombs developed throughout his nearly 30-year tenure coaching in the city are what allow him to be so successful here now, but in reality, Coombs’ recruiting recently reached superstar status nationwide. In Ohio State’s latest recruiting class alone, the Buckeyes signed cornerbacks from Texas, Florida and yes, Cincinnati.
“If you really look at Kerry’s resumé and his recruiting record, he’s good everywhere,” said Steve Specht, the longtime head coach at Cincinnati St. Xavier High School. “He’s just so charismatic, high energy. Kerry, he can sell a program. He really can and he does a good job at it.”
“If you really look at Kerry’s resumé and his recruiting record, he’s good everywhere. He’s just so charismatic, high energy. Kerry, he can sell a program. He really can and he does a good job at it.”– Cincinnati St. Xavier Head Coach Steve Specht
Added Larry Cox, the longtime head coach at Lakota West High School: "It’s funny because people will watch him coach and wonder if he’s always that energetic and yeah, he’s always that energetic. He was that way as the head coach at Colerain. That was his style."
That energy is apparent to anybody who has spent just two minutes around Coombs. He’s a passionate salesman who, frankly, doesn’t have the most difficult of challenges. Selling Ohio State to recruits right now is pretty easy; Buckeyes assistant coaches said as much themselves.
But that doesn’t mean Coombs hasn’t worked to perfect his craft. And the proof is in the results.
“He takes pride in what he does and I’ve always appreciated it,” Specht said. “You’ll get a lot of different takes on Kerry Coombs if you did 100 interviews but I can tell you what: Every guy has to respect what he does and how he approaches his trade. You may not like it, but boy does he work at it. I’ve always liked Kerry but I’ve always respected how hard he works at this.”
Ohio State signed a pair of players from the Cincinnati area in its 2017 recruiting class: four-star cornerback Amir Riep — who played at Coombs' old school, Colerain — and four-star defensive tackle Jerron Cage. As always, Coombs was the key point man for the Buckeyes in both recruitments.
In the 2018 class, Ohio State is pursuing prospects like five-star offensive lineman Jackson Carman, four-star defensive tackle Aeneas Hawkins, four-star linebacker Christopher Oats and, potentially, four-star linebacker Xavier Peters. In 2019, prospects like four-star defensive linemen Jowon Briggs and Steven Faucheux are garnering early interest from Ohio State.
Coombs is certainly leading the charge even though none of those players in the 2018 and 2019 classes would be in his meeting room should they play college football at Ohio State. That's what he does: establishes relationships early with some of Cincinnati's top prospects.
But Coombs has been so successful he's taken this approach nationally. And it's working.
"He just has tremendous charisma," Rodenberg said. "Everybody in Cincinnati respects him. I don’t know if everybody likes him because, again, some people who have that energy and charisma get a bad rap I believe, but I can just tell you that’s what makes him as good as he is — and he’s good.”
