Here are players to watch in central Ohio football
Saturday, August 12, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Columbus East’s Taizaun Burns warms up during a scrimmage August 5 at Ready. Photo: John Hulkenberg
It wasn’t necessarily an unveiled secret when Garrett Stover acknowledged after a recent scrimmage that he’ll see regular time at running back for the Big Walnut football team this fall, but it raises an interesting question.
Would the senior Ohio State recruit on defense line up in the backfield at the same time as senior teammate and Air Force commit Nate Severs, who is coming off back-to-back 2,000-plus yard rushing seasons?
“Oh yeah,” Stover said, as both he and Severs stood, smiling.
Regardless of how the talented future collegians are used, Big Walnut figures to have one of central Ohio’s top running games and powerhouse offenses for the third consecutive season.
The Golden Eagles might have a slightly different style, though, considering they’ve got a new coach in long-time assistant Curtis Crager.
A 1992 West Jefferson graduate, Crager was at DeSales the last two seasons after previously making coaching stops at his alma mater, Hilliard Darby and Dublin Coffman.
“It’s kind of a fresh start for the seniors,” Stover said. “We’re all just excited to get after it and squeeze the life out of our senior season. It’s been a little bit of an adjustment, but we keep grinding and we’re looking forward to this season. We’ve got a lot of guys that can go and play multiple positions on the field and play both ways, and this year is kind of all about pounding it down the defense’s throat and putting our best guys out there to put us in the best positions possible.”
While Stover is expected to line up defensively at middle linebacker, he and Severs both were first-team all-state in Division II last season as the Eagles went 10-3.
Severs scored 37 touchdowns and again should be among central Ohio’s top running backs this fall.
“We’ve been waiting for this since seventh grade,” Severs said. “’Iron sharpens iron’ is what coach Crager says. We’ve got a new offense and a new defense and we’re just excited to get to work. The little details are what’s going to matter in our senior year for us to go as far as we want.”
Garrett Stover (left) and Nate Severs were first-team all-state honorees in Division II last season for Big Walnut. Photo: Jarrod Ulrey
Below is a positional breakdown of some of central Ohio’s top players:
*QUARTERBACK – Several of central Ohio’s top quarterbacks reside in Delaware County, with Olentangy senior and Penn State commit Ethan Grunkemeyer at the top of the list. He threw for 2,567 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago.
Delaware Hayes senior Jake Lowman threw for a program-record 2,261 yards with 21 touchdowns and Olentangy Berlin senior Harrison Brewster passed for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 12 others. Big Walnut also has a talented veteran quarterback in senior Jake Nier, who threw for 19 touchdowns a year ago, while the area’s top sophomore quarterback could be Olentangy Orange’s Levi Davis.
Senior Matthew Papas helped Grove City post its first winning record since 2013 a year ago as he passed for 2,670 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Hilliard Bradley senior Bradyn Flaherty, who threw for 19 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards, and Gahanna Lincoln junior Brennen Ward are other talents from the OCC.
Beechcroft senior Aurelius Scott could be the top quarterback from the City League after throwing for 1,527 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago.
Worthington Christian senior Hobie Raikes threw 30 touchdowns last season.
*RUNNING BACK – Severs is one of seven returning players from the area who were first-team all-state honorees.
Senior Diore Hubbard, a West Virginia commit, was a Mr. Football finalist after finishing with 2,365 yards and 25 touchdowns and helping Gahanna reach a Division I state semifinal.
Senior Sam Williams-Dixon, an Ohio State commit who was first-team all-state in Division IV for Millersburg West Holmes, has transferred to Pickerington North.
Also in Division II along with Severs, Westerville South senior Nasir Phillips was first-team all-state after rushing for more than 1,700 yards.
Senior Dylan Armentrout rushed for 2,178 yards and 18 touchdowns while earning first-team all-state honors in Division III as Bloom-Carroll was the state runner-up.
Junior Taizaun Burns was first-team all-state in Division IV as he finished with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and scored 31 touchdowns.
Marengo Highland senior Dane Nauman was the Division V state Offensive Player of the Year as he rushed for 2,380 yards and 28 touchdowns.
*WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END – Three other players in addition to Grunkemeyer who should provide Olentangy hope that it will take a step up after going 4-7 last year are seniors Gavin Grover and Andrew Leech and junior Jackson Wiley. Grover is one of the area’s top tight ends after finishing with 43 catches last year while Leech and Wiley are wideouts who had 52 and 54 receptions, respectively, a year ago.
Delaware senior wide receiver Austin Koslow had 46 receptions and finished with a program-record 1,092 yards.
Grove City senior wide receiver J.J. King finished with 54 catches.
Granville senior wide receiver Dante Varrasso had 65 receptions.
Other top returnees at tight end include Dublin Jerome senior Aiden Lowery, Hartley senior Brenden Laret and Pickerington North senior A.J. Miller.
Canal Winchester’s Braylon Beckwith awaits a play during the Indians’ scrimmage with Pickerington North on August 10. Photo: John Hulkenberg
*OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE LINE – There are several Division I college recruits among central Ohio’s top offensive linemen.
Grove City senior Gavin Dabo (Western Michigan), Gahanna senior Jake Grimm (Toledo), Pickerington North senior Rex Lahr (Liberty), Pickerington Central senior Justin Terry (West Virginia) and Dublin Jerome senior Dane Wieklinski (Virginia) are Division I talents from the OCC.
Bloom-Carroll senior two-way lineman Jaden Ball has committed to Purdue.
Among the seniors on the defensive line, Thomas Worthington’s Francis Brewu (Pittsburgh), DeSales’ Cameron Gwinn (Boston College) Dublin Coffman’s Demetrius John (Illinois), Gahanna’s Eliah King (Rutgers) and Pickerington North’s Angelo McCullom (Illinois) are among the college commits.
Among the junior class, Westerville North offensive lineman Jake Cook and DeSales defensive lineman Ty Neubert lead the way.
*LINEBACKER – Stover finished with 91 tackles and 12 tackles for loss last season.
Watterson senior Dominic Purcell is a Navy commit who registered 129 tackles last season.
Senior Quan Rhodes-McKee, who was first-team all-state in Division II and recorded 108.5 tackles last season for Westerville South, transferred to Gahanna.
Leading the junior class are Heath’s Connor Corbett, who had 99 tackles last season and also is one of the team’s top offensive players at running back, and Hartley’s Denim Cook, who has racked up a list of 12 scholarship offers.
*SECONDARY – Canal Winchester has a strong anchor to lead its defense in senior Braylon Beckwith, a first-team all-state honoree in Division II last season after finishing with 131 tackles and eight interceptions.
Another newcomer to Gahanna’s defense expected to make an impact is senior Cam Frazier, a first-team all-state honoree in Division IV last season for KIPP Columbus.
Groveport senior Jace Nincehelser was second-team all-state in Division I and Africentric sophomore Caleb Anthony was first-team all-state in Division V.
Jerome senior Michael-Arinze Ezirim is a Toledo commit.
Senior DaShawn Simmons was second-team all-state for Columbus South and is expected to also be the team’s quarterback this fall.
*SPECIAL TEAMS – Two players who again should shine with their legs are Jerome senior Carter Holden and Berlin senior Spencer Conrad.
Holden was second-team all-state in Division I at punter but also is a standout kicker while Conrad was first-team all-state at kicker and averaged 39 yards per punt.
Other senior kickers expected to show their talents include Ready’s Drew Craddock, Watterson’s Rudy Kessinger, Grove City’s Kaedon Kline, Upper Arlington’s Holden Milliken, Granville’s Noah Musick and Hilliard Bradley’s Jake Walter.
Central Crossing senior Malik Kamara, who was a third-team all-state honoree at defensive back, returned one punt and two kickoffs for touchdowns.