Local fans welcome an OSU great Craig Krenzel
By KEVIN EIS
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RIDGEVILLE CORNERS -- A wave of scarlet-and-grey flowed throughout the Ridgeville Legion Wednesday evening as nearly 500 members of the northwest Ohio community attended the 21st Annual Sports Night hosted by the Freedom Township Men's Club.
Why all the Buckeye paraphernalia?
Because the guest speaker for this year's charity event was none other than former Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel, who, as a junior, led the Buckeyes to a perfect 14-0 record and a victory over defending national champion Miami in the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, where he earned his first of two consecutive Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP awards.
At the completion of that remarkable 2002 season with the Buckeyes, Krenzel compiled the fifth-best total yardage in Ohio State history with 2,478 yards while garnering accolades such as the Archie Griffin Offensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten honors and OSU's Co-MVP for the 2002 season.
As a senior in 2003, Krenzel led the Buckeyes back to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame as team captain where he again captured MVP honors. As a starting quarterback, Krenzel finished his career with a record of 24-3 and is currently ninth on the school's all-time career-passing list with 4,300 passing yards.
After graduating from Ohio State, Krenzel was drafted in the fifth round by the Chicago Bears, where he started five games before spending one season with the Cincinnati Bengals.
A native of Sterling Heights, Michigan, Krenzel spoke candidly in a pre-banquet interview about his football experience, past mentors and what he hopes to accomplish through public speaking.
"One of the things I like to talk about is the game of football," said the former Buckeye, who now makes a living managing acquisitions and investments for a real estate conglomerate. "It's such an incredible game because it prepares you for life. It doesn't just prepare you for sports or for business. It prepares you for friendships, relationships, dealing with family matters. All the principles of the game that makes individuals and teams successful I really believe are the things that make you successful in life."
Recruited out of high school by former OSU head coach John Cooper, Krenzel explained his decision to become a Buckeye as a need for change of atmosphere and a fresh start away from his surroundings.
"It just seemed like the best step," he replied. "It was between Stanford, Michigan and Ohio State. I wanted to make my decision early so I could really enjoy my senior year of high school. Stanford was too far away and my parents couldn't afford to fly out and see the games and visit very often.
"Adversely, Michigan was a little too close," continued Krenzel. "I had a lot of friends who were going to U of M. I wanted to get away and meet new people," adding with a laugh, "I didn't want my parents to be able to just kind of show up that night and be like 'hey, let's do dinner'. We could see and be with each other as much as we needed to be, but at the same time I could have that freedom of going away to college."
