Ohio State WR coach Darrell Hazell carries himself a bit like Jim Tressel, ready for Kent State job
Published: Monday, December 20, 2010
By Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
Darrell Hazell spent some time coaching at Army, and it shows. The Ohio State receivers coach has great posture. The bill of his Ohio State cap is always curled just so, and if someone had issued impromptu marching orders inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Hazell always gave the impression that he'd be the first guy in step.
Of the nine assistants on the Ohio State staff, Hazell is the one who most carries himself like Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, and it may not be close.
Hazell was also a pretty good receivers coach, and that also showed. He spent seven seasons at Ohio State, starting in 2004, and in the six NFL drafts from 2005 through 2010, six Ohio State receivers were drafted, with Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez all going in the first round. At practice he was crisp and efficient and upbeat, and off the field he was both liked and respected by his players, those in his meeting room and outside of it.
And now he's a head coach, with the Plain Dealer and other outlets reporting that Hazell will be announced as the new boss of the Kent State football program today, and it's a step that should come as no surprise. He's the first Ohio State assistant to leave to become a head coach since Mark Snyder went to Marshall after the 2004 season.
In 2008 when I tried to write a story about the head coaching candidates on Ohio State's staff, with linebackers coach Luke Fickell and Hazell the most obvious choices among the Buckeyes' assistants, Hazell wouldn't talk about the subject. Just a bright smile under that cap and a polite rejection of the topic. And that wasn't a surprise either.
Hazell didn't talk about himself, but he was quick to praise his players and their potential, maybe too quick at times. He wasn't afraid to drop a big name from the past when assessing one of his young receivers and explaining why this guy was "special," but his enthusiasm was always sincere and his track record was there, so you nodded your head and wondered how good this next guy would be. And many times, they got there. Who's the most improved player on the Buckeyes this season? Senior receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, named the Buckeyes' MVP by his teammates, certainly would be in the mix. And players like Anthony Gonzalez and Brian Robiskie thrived under Hazell as well, doing more in Columbus than maybe outsiders expected.
Not every receiver reached his potential, but nearly all of them left Ohio State saying how much Hazell had helped them.
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