Ohio's best: The top 23 high school football players in 2023

The state of Ohio continues to produce high-quality high school football players who will put their talents on display this fall.

As a preview to this season, the high school sports staff of the USA TODAY Network Ohio's 21 newspapers and websites compiled a who's who of the Buckeye State's prep gridiron. The staff chose athletes, no matter the high school division, receiving interest from or committing to high Division I collegiate programs.

This is the first in a four-part series that will include the sports of volleyball, boys soccer and girls soccer in the coming weeks.

Here are the best football players in the state of Ohio.

1. Jordan Marshall, Moeller

Marshall, the top offensive player in Ohio for the class of 2024, committed to Michigan in March 2023. The Archbishop Moeller running back collected first-team All-Ohio honors in 2022 and earned co-Offensive Player of the Year. Marshall is ESPN300’s No. 165 overall player, ninth-ranked RB. In 2022, Marshall had 1,951 rushing yards with 30 touchdowns plus another four receiving touchdowns.

2. Bryce West, Glenville

The state’s top player by 247Sports’ composite score, West is also ESPN300’s No. 27 player nationally. A cornerback out of Glenville, West’s top schools included Ohio State, Michigan and Alabama before committing to the Buckeyes.

3. William Satterwhite, Hoban

A senior offensive lineman coming in at 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, Satterwhite will head to Tennessee after a final season with Hoban. He's a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports.com, and is the 10th-ranked interior lineman in the country.

4. Aaron Scott, Springfield

A rising senior for Springfield, Scott is a cornerback with a four-star rating across platforms. Scott is 247Sports’ composite No. 2 player in Ohio and ESPN300’s No. 50 player nationally for the class of 2024. According to the first-team All-Ohio defender, Scott will announce his college commitment on July 30 between three schools: Michigan, Oregon and Ohio State.

5. Garrett Stover, Big Walnut

The 6-2, 210-pound Stover committed to Ohio State last November. He then capped off his junior season by earning first-team all-state and all-district honors in Division II as a linebacker. He had 92 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and two sacks. Stover is ESPN300’s No. 115 player nationally and 247Sports’ composite No. 5 player in Ohio ahead of his senior season.

6. Dorian Brew, Northmont

At Northmont High School, Brew lives as Ohio’s class of 2025’s top recruit on both 247Sports and ESPN. Currently listed as a multi-positional athlete with corner and receiver headlining, Brew holds a number of top Division I offers, but remains uncommitted.

7. Ryan Montgomery, Findlay

Ohio’s top-ranked quarterback in the class of 2025, Montgomery boasts a four-star recruit rating out of Findlay. As a sophomore, Montgomery earned Honorable Mention in the 2022 Ohio awards in Division I, alongside his brother, Luke, who is the No. 2 player in Ohio in the class of 2023 and committed to Ohio State. The 6-foot 3-inch pocket passer has countless offers and more to come entering his junior season.

8. Marquise Davis, Cleveland Heights

The lone sophomore on Ohio’s Division I first-team honors in 2022, Davis earned a spot listed as a defensive back despite making his waves as a running back. As the No. 1 running back in Ohio in the class of 2025, Davis recently a recruiting update featuring 25 schools competing for his signature, among them heavy hitters such as Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame.

9. Luka Gilbert, Lakota West

The nation’s No. 2 tight end for the class of 2025 by ESPN, Gilbert boasts a 6-foot 7-inch frame that makes him an ideal candidate to schools around the country. The Lakota West rising junior is the No. 2 player in Ohio, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Lakota West went 13-1 last season as the big tight end only started getting varsity experience in the second half of the season.

10. Deontae Armstrong, St. Edward

One-half of an Ohio State-committed set of twins out of Lakewood St. Edward High, Deontae was a member of Ohio’s Division I third team in 2022 as an offensive lineman. Armstrong sees himself ranked as the No. 18 player in Ohio for the 2024 class on 247Sports and the No. 44 tackle overall.

11. Ethan Grunkemeyer, Olentangy 

The 6-3, 190-pound quarterback was honorable mention all-state and second-team all-district in Division I as a junior. He was 227-for-361 passing for 2,567 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also rushed for 205 yards and four scores on 68 carries. A Penn State commit, Grunkemeyer is the No. 13 quarterback in the class of 2024 and the No. 8 recruit in Ohio, according to 247Sports.​​​

12. Lamar 'Bo' Jackson, Villa Angela-St. Joseph

Ohio’s class of 2025 No. 3 overall player, Jackson, from Cleveland, laces up in multiple positions on the football field, most prominently at safety or at running back. As ESPN300’s No. 125 overall player in his class, Jackson competes for Villa Angela-St. Joseph High and earned Ohio Division III Third Team honors for his role on defense. Jackson's versatile game has most recently caught the eye of schools such as Tennessee and Michigan, who have both extended offers his way.

13. Trey McNutt, Shaker Heights

Shaker Heights has a four-star multi-positioned athlete in McNutt, Ohio’s No. 6 overall player on 247Sports and No. 23 cornerback. McNutt’s recruiting has most recently brought him under the scope of West Coast schools UCLA and USC, as well as schools such as Kentucky and Louisville, while Notre Dame is a school he’s been to on multiple occasions.

14. Koy Beasley, La Salle

A track and field state champion for La Salle as well as a two-way football standout, 247Sports has the Purdue commit as the No. 4 senior in Ohio and the No. 10 safety in the country.

15. Devontae Armstrong, St. Edward

One-half of an Ohio State-committed set of twins out of Lakewood St. Edward High, Devontae was a member of Ohio’s Division I third team in 2022 as an offensive lineman. Armstrong sees himself ranked as the No. 17 player in Ohio for the 2024 class on 247Sports and the No. 36 interior lineman overall.

16. Ted Hammond, St. Xavier

The 6-foot-5 and 270-pound defensive lineman in the class of 2024 is committed to Michigan. The St. Xavier Bomber is a unanimous four-star recruit and the No. 39 defensive lineman nationally.

17. Diore Hubbard, Gahanna Lincoln

The senior running back announced his commitment to West Virginia on July 1. The 5-11, 185-pound Hubbard was the Division I Central District Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state last season, leading Gahanna to its first state semifinal appearance since 1982. He rushed for 2,365 yards and 25 touchdowns on 323 carries and had 23 catches for 296 yards and four scores.

18. Tavien St. Clair, Bellefontaine

The class of 2025’s second-ranked quarterback (No. 10 OVR on 247Sports), St. Clair held offers from college football powerhouses such as Ohio State, LSU, Florida, and more before committing to the Buckeyes. A native of Bellefontaine, St. Clair’s 6-foot 4-inch, 215-pound frame makes him a presence behind the offensive line. St. Claire threw for over 2,400 yards in his sophomore season, with a 71-percent completion rate.

18. Damarion Witten, Glenville

A four-star tight end, the 6-4, 215-pound pass catcher is Ohio’s No. 8 player for the class of 2024 and No. 14 tight end nationally. After announcing his top five in early June, Witten committed to stay in the state and play for Ohio State.

20. Taebron Bennie-Powell, Lakota West

A senior Notre Dame commit and three-star multi-positional athlete for a talented Lakota West defense that could project to be a safety for the Fighting Irish. In 2022, Bennie-Powell posted 26 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions.

21. Brian Robinson, Austintown Fitch

A 6-foot 5-inch, 255-pound edge rusher out of Austintown Fitch, Robinson earned Division II's third-team honors last season. The four-star has picked up a number of Power Five conference offers.

22. Danny Stoddard, Medina

Ohio’s Division I co-Offensive Player of the Year, Medina’s Stoddard led all of Ohio with over 5,000 passing yards in 2022. Tacking on 58 touchdowns in the air, the quarterback also rushed for over 675 yards and found the endzone a dozen times. The rising senior announced his first Division I offer in March to the University of Maine.

23. Ben Roebuck, St. Edward

Teammate of the Armstrong twins at St. Edward, Roebuck rounds out a massive front for the Eagles as another offensive tackle. Roebuck’s 6-foot 7-inch, 315-pound frame provides quite the offensive protection for the reigning state champions. Roebuck, opposite of the Armstrong twins, is committed to Michigan ahead of his senior season.

Others receiving votes

Chase Bond, Massillon; Tysen Campbell, Hoban; Donte Ferrell, Woodward; Sam Greer, Hoban; Chris Henry Jr., Withrow ; Elbert Hill, Hoban; Justin Hill, Winton Woods; Napoleon Jemison, Whitmer; Jasen Kelly, Whitmer; Dante McClellan, Canton McKinley; Dane Nauman, Marengo Highland; Sean Patrick, Kenton; Tommy Ricard, Hudson; Ziaire Stevens, Akron East; Sam Williams-Dixon, Pickerington North; Rickey Williams, Hoban; Brendan Zurbrugg, Alliance

How they were ranked

Gannett staff members researched and compiled a list of high Division I-caliber players. More than 40 players made up the pool, and from there the staff chose its top 23. Each player received points based on where they placed in each journalist's rankings. First-place players received 23 points, second-place players got 22 and so on until the 23rd player wrapped it up with 1 point. Those points were tabulated to determine the top 23 players.

The USA TODAY Network Ohio includes The Enquirer, the Columbus Dispatch, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other news outlets across the state.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio high school football 2023: The best players in Ohio