Have son, and willing to travel
Wheelwrights won?t have to hit the road this weekend to see Ernie IV play for Minnesota
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ernie Wheelwright, scoring on a 42-yard pass play against Toledo, is 10 th on Minnesota?s career list with 1,397 receiving yards.
When Ernie Wheelwright III wheels his Cadillac into a parking spot somewhere near Ohio Stadium today, the engine might want to keep right on running.
It won?t be because of bad gasoline or a shoddy mechanic. It?s just that every Big Ten weekend going on three seasons now, by the time Wheelwright and his family got 10 miles from their east Columbus home, they were just getting started.
Ernie Wheelwright IV is a junior receiver for Minnesota. With the exception of some faraway Gophers games, EW III has made the scene. He will today when Minnesota plays at top-ranked Ohio State.
"I know he loves the trips, especially now that he?s got that Cadillac," Ernie IV said.
Maybe his father goes in style, but it?s not to show off his wheels.
"I love the Big Ten, I love the excitement that goes with games in the Big Ten, and more than that, I am proud of my son," he said. "I sure would do this all over again. I just love the fact he is getting the experience of being a part of Big Ten football, the greatest conference there is."
There was a time when Ernie IV wasn?t assured of that. As far back as his sophomore season at Walnut Ridge High School, Ohio State showed interest in him, first under coach John Cooper and then Jim Tressel. It was looking more and more as if those commutes to home college games were going to be a snap.
But Ernie IV had a problem. By the time his senior season rolled around, his academic numbers didn?t match what OSU had in mind under the enhanced pre-enrollment guidelines set by then-athletic director Andy Geiger.
If only Ernie IV had known earlier what his real problem was. His senior year he was diagnosed with a learning disability that hurt him most of all in math. His pride kept him from pursuing the truth sooner, he said. But once he got help, his math work jumped dramatically.
"Discovering that helped me not only get to college, it?s going to help the rest of my life," Ernie IV said.
The bottom line: "Don?t be afraid to ask for help," he said.
Gophers coach Glen Mason wasn?t afraid to take a chance on a 6-foot-5, 215-pound receiver who went on to become the MVP of the Ohio North-South Classic all-star game.
Ernie IV spent a redshirt season as a freshman in 2003 but since has started 28 of the Gophers? past 32 games. He?s 10 th on Minnesota?s careerreceiving yards list with 1,397.
If he had to go more than 500 miles from home to get that chance, "It?s been worth it," said Ernie IV, scheduled to graduate in a little more than a year. "It?s been a blessing in a lot of ways, one of which was getting me away from home, where I couldn?t just rely on my parents for so many things. It was getting me to a place where I had to meet new people, make a lot of new friends, and mature."
Meanwhile, his father has been glad to steer the Caddy down the road, because he said he?s witnessing more than mere Big Ten football.
"I?ve always told him football could be gone today or tomorrow, but your schooling, you take that with you until you die," he said. "He knows that. That?s why I?m so proud of him."
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