Buckeye Pipelines: Super Bowl-Bound Sam Hubbard, Rob Murphy and Joe Lukens Among Ohio

In Buckeye Pipelines, a new series here at Eleven Warriors, we’ll be putting the spotlight each week on a high school program who has had numerous and notable alumni go on to play for the Scarlet and Gray.

For the first edition of Buckeye Pipelines, we take a look at a program that will also be represented in this weekend’s Super Bowl: Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School, the alma mater of former Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard, who will play for his hometown Bengals as they look to win their first NFL championship on Sunday.

Hubbard, who played safety at Archbishop Moeller, ended up growing into the defensive end position at Ohio State, where he had a productive four-year career from 2014-17 before being drafted by the Bengals in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. And just two days before playing in the Super Bowl, Hubbard credited Moeller with playing an integral role in getting him to where he is now.

“Moeller was really my first opportunity to learn what it means to be a part of a team and win,” Hubbard said. “We won two state championships my junior and senior year, and I learned that those relationships you build on a team are what contributes to winning games. My teammates that I played with at Moeller are my closest friends to this day.”

He isn’t the only former Crusader who went on to star for the Buckeyes, though, as Ohio State has had 19 players from Moeller since 1970.

Notable Buckeyes from Moeller

LB Vic Koegel (1971-73)

Koegel helped the Buckeyes win back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1972 and 1973. Koegel led the Buckeyes with 126 tackles as sophomore in 1971 and was an All-Big Ten player in 1973, when he helped Ohio State defeat USC in the Rose Bowl and was second on the team with 96 tackles. The Falcons selected him in the 12th round of the 1974 NFL draft.

Koegel was coached by Gerry Faust at Moeller, where he was an All-Ohioan at linebacker. Today, he is the president of Koegel Training and Development and a senior instructor and consultant for Think Training.

ARCHBISHOP MOELLER

LOCATION: CINCINNATI, OH CONFERENCE: GCL SOUTH 2021 RECORD: 11–4

24 OHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 9 STATE FOOTBALL TITLES 13 NON-OHSAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

3RD-MOST PLAYERS ON OHIO STATE’S ROSTER (19) 3RD-MOST ROSTER APPEARANCES (68) (1970-2021)

OL Joe Lukens (1979-82)

Lukens started 47 out of 48 games in his four-year career as a Buckeye. After starting at right tackle in 1979, Lukens earned All-Big Ten honors as Ohio State’s starting right guard in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

He was also a captain in 1982. Ohio State won two Big Ten titles and went 3–1 in The Game during his time in Columbus. The Dolphins selected Lukens in the 11th round of the 1983 NFL Draft.

Following his football playing days, he went on to become the co-founder and president of Assured Neace Lukens, one of the 50 largest insurance agencies in the nation. He also started a sports virtue program called sportsleader.org.   

The Crusaders won every game except for one during Lukens’ four seasons on the squad. He was an All-Ohioan and All-American as a senior. Lukens’ older brother, Bill, was a captain of the 1976 Ohio State team.

OL Rob Murphy (1995-98) 

A three-year starter at left guard, Murphy was a first-team All-American in both 1997 and 1998. Ohio State went 43–7 record during his time with the team, winning two Big Ten championships (1996, 1998) and the 1997 Rose Bowl and 1999 Sugar Bowl during Murphy’s years as a starter.

Ranked as the top offensive lineman in the state of Ohio and the nation’s No. 18 offensive lineman as a recruit, Murphy earned All-Ohio and All-America honors at Moeller, where he also played hockey for three years and wrestled as a senior.

Murphy went on to play in the NFL, XFL and CFL and is now a firefighter in Florida. 

DE Sam Hubbard (2014-17) 

After redshirting during the 2014 national championship season, Hubbard was a staple in Ohio State’s defensive end rotation from 2015-17, recording 116 total tackles with 30 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles over the course of his three playing seasons with the Buckeyes.

Hubbard was a captain of the 2017 team, made the Academic All-Big Ten team three times (2015, 2016, 2017) and was also an Academic All-American in 2017. The Buckeyes won two Big Ten championships during Hubbard’s Ohio State career and went undefeated in The Game with Hubbard on the squad.

An All-Ohioan at safety for Moeller, Hubbard was as a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 7 player in Ohio for the 2014 recruiting class. The Crusaders won back-to-back state titles during Hubbard’s junior and senior seasons, where he was also a standout player in lacrosse (which you may or may not have heard on a TV broadcast or two during his Ohio State career).

Hubbard is now in his fourth season with the Bengals after signing a four-year, $40 million contract extension with the team in July. He has already recorded 239 total tackles with 34 tackles for loss and 24 sacks in his NFL career and has been at his best in the Bengals’ run to this year’s Super Bowl, recording 14 total tackles with three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass deflection.