DJ: Ohio State’s Kerry Coombs is faithful to his Colerain, West Side roots

He might as well have been addressing his 2003 Colerain High School football team. Kerry Coombs was after all, decked out in red for Thursday night’s Western Hills Country Club sports stag, still exhorting his audience to overachieve. This time around though he was sporting a little bauble on his right ring finger that suggests he’s moved, not necessarily on but certainly up: A plum-sized ring attesting to his role in the Ohio State Buckeyes 2015 NCAA National Championship. Yet Kerry remains one of us. And proud especially of his West Side roots. “This part of Cincinnati is unique. You need to know that. You have to realize how special it is to be from here. I’m proud of that.” His message though, needed no deep consideration. Particularly on where Cincinnati high school football ranks on a national scale. And why recruiters come calling early and often. “No football played anywhere, is any better than Cincinnati. You know what you are getting here from kids you recruit. Hard-nosed kids who have not had everything handed to them. They’ve worked hard and will work hard for you. That’s what makes us special here.” As for his ascension from Greenhills, Lakota, Loveland and Colerain high schools, to successful stints at UC and now as a key member of Urban Meyer’s staff at OSU? “I’ve been on a magical ride. Literally living a dream. For whatever reason, I drew the long straw. Sometimes stuff just works out.” As for head coaching aspirations…

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