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M. Palmer/Times-Leader Wide receiver Dan Monteroso joined Antoine Miles, Polk-Campbell, Jake Replogle and Jason Tretter as the five Ohioans to sign with Purdue for its 2013 class. Many more are likely to follow in coming years. the home of powerful Washington High School, as the No. 1 high school football city in America, one spot ahead of Odessa, Texas, the subject of ���Friday Night Lights.��� Cincinnati ranked 10th on that list. Canton McKinley is one of the most recognizable names in high school football anywhere. Stark County is known as the ���Cradle of Coaches.��� Bob Stoops and Bo Pelini are from there. Urban Meyer is from Toledo. NFL Hall-of-Famer Paul Brown played and coached at Massillon Washington. ���It���s a very football-centric state,��� Givler said. ���They really love it here, start ���em at a young age and take it very seriously. ���It���s part of the history of the state and part of its tradition.��� That history has manifested itself into a state that not only turns out a lot of college prospects but also the right kind of college prospects, coaches say. Whereas the Southeast churns out speed and athleticism, Ohio is thought to produce toughness and a level of investment consistent with traditional Midwestern values. ���You know they���re passionate about football and that goes a long way,��� said Purdue linebackers coach Marcus Freeman, a Dayton area native and Ohio State alumnus who���ll recruit the state for Purdue. ���You know they���re tough, they���re passionate and they���re well-coached and that means a lot. ���As a coach, you want guys who love football. As a linebacker coach, I tell every single one of my recruits, ���I want guys who love football.��� And if they play football in Ohio, they better love it.��� j kings of college football for generations and in the professional ranks, the Cleveland Browns possess a storied history. That tradition, or whatever it is, seems to have trickled down to the passion shown at the high school level. When Saint Clairsville High School, near the West Virginia border, went 10-0 to start this season, Purdue wide receiver recruit Dan Monteroso was part of the parade they threw. ���It���s the best football in the country,��� Monteroso said. Purdue defensive end recruit Antoine Miles played at powerhouse Canton McKinley, which plays on the Hall of Fame���s field and often draws crowds of at least 6,000. ���There���s great coaching in the state, but I just think the common denominator is tradition breeding success,��� said Ron Ullery, Jake Replogle���s coach at Centerville High School. ���There���s so many traditionally strong, very well-known programs in Ohio and coaches and kids like to be part of that and it just continues to grow. I don���t think there���s any secret to it or anything in the water or anything like that, but I just think it���s tradition and sometimes people overlook that.��� Football is literally everywhere in Ohio. In the college ranks, it���s not just its BCS programs in Columbus, where Ohio State resides, or Cincinnati, but also the six Mid-American Conference campuses in the Buckeye State. Between Kent State, Akron, Toledo, Ohio University, Miami (Ohio) and Bowling Green, Ohio accounts for half the MAC. Or in Youngstown, where Youngstown State is one of FCS��� flagship programs. At the high school level, 719 high schools in Ohio sponsor football. Part of the reason the state turns out so many college recruits is because of its wealth of major population centers, as Ohio includes more big cities than any other Midwestern state, or any land-locked state for that matter. According to the most recent census information available, Ohio includes six of the 132 most-populated cities in the country, with Columbus (15), Cleveland (35), Cincinnati (56) and Toledo (58) all falling in the top 60. Those cities play some of the most competitive high school football in America. But many of the state���s most prominent programs reside outside such major population centers. A recent feature by the web site CollegeStats.org ranked Massillon, Ohio, GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com Gold & Black IllustrateD ��� volume 23, issue 4 ������ 29