Who is the best Indiana high school football player? Vote now
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High school football is a big deal in Indiana. Just look at the first round of the NFL Draft: Two former Indiana high school athletes – Westfield’s Dillon Thieneman (No. 25 to the Chicago Bears) and Lawrence North’s Omar Cooper Jr. (No. 30 to the New York Jets) – were selected.
The Hoosier State has produced an abundance of talent over the years, including Super Bowl champions, Pro Football Hall of Famers, college football national champions and college All-Americans.
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So … Who is the best high school player in Indiana history?
It is a question we at USA TODAY Sports have attempted to answer. The following list of 10 players is based on high school achievements first and is just a starting point. Readers can add their own submissions to the poll.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states.
James Banks, Ben Davis
Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach Dick Dullaghan once called Banks the best high school football player he ever coached. That is saying something considering Dullaghan coached six undefeated teams and eight state champions. Banks engineered the Giants to two of those state titles in 1999 and 2001, winning Mr. Football as a senior. Banks passed for a then-school record 5,074 yards and 63 touchdowns and ran for 2,235 yards and 31 TDs. He started out his playing career at Tennessee before finishing at Carson-Newman.
Jeff George, Warren Central
The rifle-armed quarterback was ahead of his time, setting records for passing yardage with back-to-back 3,000-yard seasons in 1984 and ’85, leading the Warriors to back-to-back state titles. George set almost all of the state passing records when he graduated, including career yards (8,126), season yards (3,336), completions in a season (252) and career (543, a national record), and touchdown passes in a season (45) and career (94). He was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. George played at Illinois and Purdue before going on to a 14-year NFL career.
Bob Griese, Evansville Rex Mundi
Griese attended Rex Mundi, a Catholic school that opened just before he entered high school (it closed in 1972). He was a three-sport athlete in high school, also competing in baseball and basketball. Griese was a three-time all-City quarterback and twice named all-state. He also played three sports at Purdue, though he shined in football, leading Purdue to a win in its first Rose Bowl appearance his senior year. Griese was a two-time All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up. He went on to NFL stardom with the Miami Dolphins, who retired his No. 12 jersey. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
Lamar Lundy, Richmond
Lundy was an All-American in football and basketball coming out of Richmond as a senior in 1953. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 235 pounds as a senior, Lundy was selected first team all-state as a tight end and also played defense. Richmond won 22 consecutive games in Lundy’s junior and senior seasons combined. He was also named to the Indiana All-Star team in basketball. Lundy went on to be the first Black athlete to receive a football scholarship at Purdue, where he played football and basketball, earning Big Ten MVP honors in both sports. He went on to a 13-year NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams as a member of the vaunted “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line with Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen and Rosey Grier.
Zack Martin, Bishop Chatard
Martin, a 2009 Chatard graduate, was a star player in high school on the offensive line, helping the team to back-to-back Class 3A titles as a sophomore and junior. Martin, who also played basketball, was named all-state and also an Under Armour All-American. He picked Notre Dame over Michigan and others, then became a four-year starter with the Irish. Then-coach Brian Kelly called him the best offensive lineman he had ever coached. Martin was drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys and became a nine-time Pro Bowler in his 11-year career before retiring after the 2024 season.
Myles McLaughlin, Knox
McLaughlin, the 2025 Indiana Mr. Football, broke the state record for rushing yards and nearly set a national record, finishing with 11,839 yards playing quarterback. As a senior, McLaughlin did break a single-season national record with 4,846 rushing yards. He ran for 71 touchdowns and led Knox to a 13-1 record and a Class 3A regional title for the second time in three years (the only two in program history). McLaughlin fell just short of Derrick Henry’s national record of 12,124 career rushing yards. He will play at Murray State.
Rick Mirer, Goshen
A few years after George graduated at Warren Central, Mirer broke his single season state passing record with 3,973 yards as a senior at Goshen in 1988. He passed for 30 touchdowns and ran for 460 yards and 22 TDs on the way to a Class 4A state title. Mirer was named a Parade All-American and national quarterback of the year by the Washington Quarterback Club and Atlanta Touchdown Club. Mirer committed to Notre Dame after a high-profile recruiting race. He went on to lead the Irish to a 29-7-1 record as a starter, ranking second in school history in passing yards when he left. Mirer was a first-round NFL draft pick and played 12 years in the league.
Jaylon Smith, Fort Wayne Luers
Smith was a heralded linebacker coming out of Bishop Luers, where he was a 2013 high school graduate. He was named Mr. Football in 2012 and the Butkus Award winner as the top high school linebacker in the country. He was also named first team Parade All-American and USA TODAY All-American. He led Luers to the Class 2A state title as a senior as a linebacker and running back. Luers would four straight state titles from 2009-12. Smith, who also competed in basketball and track and field, went on to star at Notre Dame, where he was a consensus All-American and Butkus Award winner in 2015. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. He was a Pro Bowler in 2019.
Charlie Spegal, New Palestine
The 5-11, 225-pound Spegal obliterated the record book as a senior at New Palestine in 2019, leading the Dragons to a 14-0 season and Class 5A state championship. Spegal ran for 3,168 yards as a senior to set the state’s career mark for rushing yards with 10,867 (setting the mark almost 3,000 yards ahead of the previous record-holder). He ran for 173 career TDs and scored 175 total TDs. Spegal was named Mr. Football, along with Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana and was a three-time all-state selection. He went on to play in college at Indiana, Ball State and Butler.
Rod Woodson, Fort Wayne Snider
Woodson graduated from high school in 1983 as one of the most accomplished prep athletes in Indiana history. Not only was he a star defensive back and wingback (nine interceptions as a senior and more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage), he was a two-time state champion in the low and high hurdles and an all-conference basketball player. Woodson went on to be a two-time All-American at Purdue and a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he became an 11-time Pro Bowl selection. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Vote for the best Indiana high school football player of all time