Every Ohio high school football player dreams of one day suiting up for Ohio State. And for a vast majority of them, that’s all it will ever be — a dream.
OSU’s 2024 roster consists of 108 players, all of them winners of the genetic lottery. They run faster, jump higher and bench press more than 99.9 percent of their peers and, by all accounts, possess the work ethic to match their other-worldly athleticism.
Those 108 players come from 23 states and two foreign countries. Less than half of them (44) call Ohio home.
There are 16 freshmen listed on OSU’s 2024 roster, which isn’t unusual. OSU recruiting classes traditionally number anywhere between 20 and 25 and not every recruit ends up in Columbus.
Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class, which is ranked as the top class in the nation by websites that track those sorts of things, currently includes 20 players.
There were 43,020 high school football players in Ohio in 2022, according to the most recent statistics provided by the Ohio High School Athletic Association to the National Federation of State High School Associations for its annual high school athletics participation survey.
If they are evenly distributed, there are roughly 10,500 high school football players per class in Ohio in any given year. That means 10,500 Ohio players, give or take, are competing for 20 to 25 Ohio State scholarships and not even half of them will go to in-state players.
The NFHSA’s participation survey found there were more than 1 million high school football players nationwide in 2022. Meanwhile, the NCAA reported 77,204 college football players in the fall of 2022 according to its survey estimating the probability of competing in college athletics.
I’m no statistician, but the odds of a high school football player landing a scholarship offer from any NCAA institution — let alone Ohio State — are longer than, say, the likelihood of you or me being struck by lightning in our lifetimes (1 in 15,300).
So when Ontario’s Bodpegn Miller landed an OSU offer last week, it sent north central Ohio into a frenzy.
For Miller, called B.P. by friends, playing at Ohio State has always been more than a dream. It was and is a reasonable expectation.
“From an early age my coaches and family have supported me and made me realize I really do have something more,” Miller said after earning the offer from OSU offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline. “I’ve just got to put the hard work in and grind and keep believing in myself.
“I’ve always believed in my abilities.”
It didn’t take Miller long to shut down his recruitment. The lifelong Ohio State fan committed to the Buckeyes on Friday, three days after receiving his offer.
Making his story even more intriguing, Miller will arrive in Columbus in the fall of 2025 never having played the position he is being recruited to play. Ohio State envisions him as a receiver. Ontario uses him as a dual-threat quarterback.
He was the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year last fall after completing 156-of-252 passes for 2,328 yards and 19 touchdowns. Miller rushed for another 1,003 yards and 17 touchdowns on 132 carries.
“I’ll wait until college (to make the position change),” Miller said. “Right now it’s about doing what’s best for the Ontario Warriors, not Ohio State. I’ll focus on my high school career and finish at quarterback or wherever they need me.”
Ontario coach Aaron Eckert would expect nothing less from his unassuming superstar.
“Bodpegn doesn’t always put himself out there all the time,” Eckert said. “He’s a team guy and just goes about things the right way.
“It’s easy to pull for a kid like that.”
What’s more, Hartline and the rest of the OSU coaching staff have yet to see a fully-healthy Miller.
He was bothered by a nagging hamstring injury during the track season, but still qualified for the Division II state meet in three events. He placed sixth in the 200-meter dash in 22.60 seconds and, according to Eckert, was timed in the 40-yard dash between 4.40 and 4.51 seconds during last week’s OSU camp.
“I would say I’m at like 90 percent,” Miller said. “I feel it every now and then, but it’s definitely not as bad as it was during the track season.”
Ontario was 10-2 last fall and shared the MOAC championship with Shelby. The Warriors reached the second round of the Division III playoffs.
So what does Miller plan to do for an encore?
“Another conference title and a deeper run in the playoffs,” Miller said when asked about expectations for his senior year. “We lost a lot (to graduation) but I still believe in us.”