Redgie Arden has seen his name in newspaper headlines.

Thursday, June 22, 2000

Redgie Arden has seen his name in newspaper headlines. Now, he’s seeing his name in the magazines.

And not only is he getting his name in magazines, he’s at the top of list.

The Ironton Fighting Tigers 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior linebacker, who has already given a verbal commitment to Ohio State, has been listed in countless Ohio and national publications as one of the nation’s top high school prospects.

Add one more major publication to the list.

The Sporting News annual college football magazine has five of the best high school recruiting services rate the top 100 players in the United States. All five of the scouting services rated Arden among the top 100 players.

The collective ratings generate the "Five-Star Studs" team which is the top 12 offensive players and 13 defensive players.

Arden was chosen as one of the three best linebackers in the country to make the "Five-Star Studs" team.

"I’m flattered. To be one of the top players in the nation is unbelievable," said Arden. "It makes me feel better because of my surgeries. I wasn’t sure how the colleges would feel about me."

Arden suffered a knee injury in the ninth week of the regular season last year. He missed the rest of the season including Ironton’s playoff run to the Division IV state championship game.

Arden also had a shoulder injury repaired that has lingered for the past two seasons. Dr. John Leach performed both surgeries and Arden appears to be nearly 100 percent.

"Dr. Leach did a great job. I feel better than ever," said Arden.

Arden was one of two Ohio players on the "Five-Star Studs" team. The other was 6-8 defensive lineman Pat Massey from Cleveland St. Ignatius.

"I’ve been in other magazines, but I can’t believe this until I see it. That’s awesome. This makes all that hard work worth it. To get a scholarship is great, but this is something that you never expect."

The magazine lists Arden at 225 pounds, but he has added 10 pounds and hopes to put on an additional five before the start of the season.

"I want to be about 240 because I usually lose 10 pounds," said Arden.

Getting to be a top college recruit is more than talent and hard work, Arden said.

"You have to have average to good grades to get guys to look at you. Players need to be serious about their grades. Colleges won’t take you just because you’re a good player," said Arden.

Ohio State came calling last season even though Arden was just a junior. It was Arden’s lifetime dream to play for the Buckeyes, so he gave his verbal commitment.

Despite his injuries and surgeries, Ohio State remains excited about getting the Ironton linebacker.

"I’m glad I committed early and got it out of the way. It gets to be a hassle with coaches calling you all the time and they want to keep you on the phone for two hours," said Arden.

Besides playing linebacker, Arden sometimes plays a rush defensive end in passing situations.

Offensively, Arden is a tight end and he caught seven passes last season for 125 yards.

A first team All-Southeast District pick, Arden was special mention All-Ohio.