Who belongs on Toledo-area high school boys athlete Mount Rushmore?

There have been plenty of talented high school boys athletes in the Toledo area in recent years.

Who are the most monumental figures? Here are picks for the Mount Rushmore of high school boys athletes from my time with The Blade’s sports staff, 1987 to present.

Jim Jackson

Toledo's basketball icon, Jackson hit the highs at all three levels of his sport. In his four-year prep career at the former Macomber High School, the 6-6 guard burst onto the hoops landscape as a freshman in 1985-86, leading the Macmen to the Class AA regional finals.

He capped a fabulous four-year prep career with 2,328 points, as a three-time first team All-Ohioan. He won the state's first two Mr. Basketball awards in 1988 (26.7 points per game) and 1989 (31.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists), and was also named a Parade Magazine All-American both years. As a senior he led Macomber (26-1) a No. 1 state ranking and to a Division I state championship, scoring 29 points in the semifinals and 25 in the championship game.

Jackson moved on to Ohio State University, where he scored 1,785 points in his three-year career (1989-92), leading the Buckeyes to back-to-back Big Ten titles and earning first team All-America honors in 1991 and 1992 before entering the NBA draft following his junior year.

Selected in the first round (No. 4 overall pick) by the Dallas Mavericks, Jackson spent 14 seasons (1992-2006) in the NBA, scoring 12,690 points while playing for 12 different teams. Was one of the NBA's top scorers at 25.7 points per game for Dallas in 1994-95 before an ankle injury cut his season short.

Jackson, who had his jersey No. 22 retired by OSU, was named to the college basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, and for over a decade has been one of the game's top television (and radio) analysts, working for Fox Sports, Turner Sports, and Westwood One.

“Jimmy came in with a basketball IQ that was 80 points above the other kids,” former Macomber coach Bart Schroeder said. “He saw the floor, he knew how to distribute the ball, and he worked on ball-handling every day after practice. All great athletes have a great work ethic or else they would not be great, and he was that type of individual. I think he put Toledo basketball on a bigger map than it had ever been on. Even though we had some really wonderful players before him, he just sort of took the light bulb and shined it a little brighter.”

Charles Woodson

A magnificent and instinctive football player, Woodson rose to the top at every level of the game. At Fremont Ross High School (1992-95), where he excelled at football (running back-defensive back), basketball, and track, Woodson was named Ohio's Mr. Football as a senior in 1994 after accumulating 3,861 career rushing yards and 466 points for the Little Giants. He ran for 2,028 yards and scored 230 points as a senior.

At the University of Michigan, Woodson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1995, and was named first team Big Ten as a DB all three of his college seasons. He was also a two-time first team All-American (1996-97). As a junior DB, receiver, and return man in 1997, Woodson became the only primarily defensive player to ever win the Heisman Trophy while leading the Wolverines to a 12-0 national championship season. He also won college football’s Bronko Nagurski, Chuck Bednarik, Walter Camp, Jim Thorpe, and Jack Tatum awards that season.

Selected in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft (No. 4 overall) pick by the Oakland Raiders, Woodson began a highly-regarded 18-year career (Oakland 1998-2005, 2013-15, and Green Bay (2006-12) as a cornerback. He was named first team All-Pro four times, was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times, and was the NFL's defensive player of the year in 2009. In a career that included 1,205 tackles and 65 interceptions, Woodson played in a Super Bowl with Oakland in 200x, and won a Super Bowl with Green Bay in 2010. He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018, and to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2021.

“Any time he was on the field he really did amaze me,” former Fremont Ross coach Rex Radeloff said. “He had great eyes. He could see the ball and then get there to make a play. He was intelligent, on and off the field. He just did things that he took for granted, and made other players work hard simply because they wanted to have success because that's what Charles wanted – for the team to be successful. He amazed me on Friday nights, but he practiced that way also. He took it seriously. It's tough to put your finger on it, but he just had the ability to do things. To time up jumps, and to be in the right place at the right time. He studied the opponents, and was well prepared any time he went on the field.”

Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben kind of emerged in a heartbeat in his one season as a high school quarterback in 1999 after previously playing as an all-district receiver at Findlay. In that remarkable senior season, Roethlisberger passed for 4,041 yards and 54 touchdowns in just 12 games for the Trojans, incredible numbers that both set state records at the dawn of spread-offense schemes. He threw a state record-tying eight TD passes in a win over Fremont Ross, and was named Ohio’s Division I offensive player of the year. He was also a standout basketball and baseball player for the Trojans, earning third team D-I All-Ohio basketball honors (26.0 points per game) as a senior.

Because of his late start as a prep QB, recruiting was delayed for the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Roethlisberger, who accepted a scholarship to Miami (Ohio) University in the Mid-American Conference. After a red-shirt season in 2000, Roethlisberger began a record-setting three-year career for the RedHawks (2001-03), passing for a program-record 10,289 yards and 80 touchdowns while leading Miami to a 27-11 record. As a senior, he passed for 4,486 yards and 37 TDs for the 13-1 RedHawks.

Chosen in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft (No. 11 overall pick) by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Roethlisberger won his first 15 regular-season starts (2004-05). In 18 seasons, all with the Steelers, Roethlisberger passed for 64,088 yards (No. 5 in NFL all-time) and 418 touchdowns (No. 8) in the regular season (165-81-1 record). He added 5,972 yards and 36 TDs in 23 career playoff games, and led 53 game-winning drives in his career (No. 2 all-time).

Roethlisberger, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, helped the Steelers reach three Super Bowls, winning in 2006 and 2009.

“The most important thing was that he took us to a higher level of excellence,” said former Findlay coach Cliff Hite. “We changed our whole offense for him, and he took it to a level that was above and beyond our wildest dreams. We kept using that system with other people later on, but he was the one who started our spread offense at Findlay. When we did 7-on-7s in the summer before that season, it was blatantly obvious that this guy was a next-level player. Ben always seemed to make something good happen, even if it didn't start off good. He was great at escaping and at improvising. That part of his game amazed me.”

Erik Kynard

Few people can claim to be the best in world at something at any point of their lives, and 2009 Rogers graduate Erik Kynard is one of those, although it took a few years to become official.

After originally winning the Olympic silver medal (2.33 meters – 7 feet, 7.32 inches) in the high jump while competing for the United States in 2012 in London, Kynard was elevated to a gold-medal victory when a Russian opponent was eventually disqualified for blood doping.

That was the highlight in a superb prep, college, and professional high-jumping career for the 6-foot-4 Kynard, who began as a freshman at Start High School in 2005-06. After placing at the Division I state meet with a 6-6 jump in 2006, Kynard transferred to Rogers for his sophomore year, and placed second at state at 6-9 in 2007.

Kynard then won back-to-back state D-I titles, clearing 7 feet in 2008, and 7-1 in 2009. Weeks earlier in his senior year, Kynard set the Ohio high jump record when he cleared 7-3½ at the City League meet at Rogers. That record still stands.

Moving on to Kansas State University, Kynard won two NCAA outdoor championships (7-6 in 2011 and 7-8 in 2012), and won six total Big-12 Conference titles (3 indoors, 3 outdoors), and cleared a career-best 7-8¾ at the prestigious 2013 Prefontaine Classic at the University of Oregon.

Kynard made the U.S. Olympic team again in 2016, and placed sixth at 2.33 meters in Brazil, the same height he cleared in winning gold in 2012.

“I would say, if God made a high jumper, he'd look like Erik Kynard,” former Rogers coach Eric Browning said. “There's three things you look for in an athlete – talent, work ethic, and their overall support system. Erik just had everything. He had more talent than anybody could, he had all the work ethic in the world, and his mother was always there is his corner. I pride myself as a coach that I'll try harder than any kid will. Erik is the only kid I've ever coached that has tried every bit as hard, and was willing to do everything. He was a track athlete 12 months a year from his sophomore year on. He just had that kind of laser focus.”