Krenzel Shows Smarts On And Off The Field
Dec 30, 2002
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
PHOENIX (AP) – Solving problems usually is easy for Ohio State quarterbackCraig Krenzel, a molecular genetics major.
He might be facing his toughest test yet – beating top-ranked Miami.
“I welcome the challenge,” Krenzel said Monday. “Nobody thinks we canwin. Being an underdog doesn’t bother us a bit. We’re going into this game withall the confidence in the world that if we come out and play our game andexecute, we have a good chance at winning.”
Despite leading Ohio State to a 13-0 record and within a victory of itsfirst national title in 34 years, Krenzel’s most impressive accomplishmentsmight have come in the classroom, not on the field.
The premed student has taken molecular genetics, gene and cell development,organic chemistry, microbiology, analytic geometry, evolutionary ecology andphysics – not the typical course load for an athlete.
“The nice thing about taking those classes is that about 90 percent of thestudents don’t know who I am,” Krenzel said. “I like that. They spend alltheir time studying.”
Krenzel spends time that way, too, although he spends more time on footballthan science these days. With exams behind him, Krenzel’s focus is now entirelyon the Hurricanes’ defense heading into Friday night’s Fiesta Bowl.
And the pressure will be on. With Miami geared up to stop Ohio State’srunning game, Krenzel will be counted on to make the plays to lead the Buckeyesto victory.
“They play physical and are extremely fast,” he said. “They are thefastest team we’ve seen all year. You can’t prepare for that in practice.”
Krenzel, the Buckeyes’ co-MVP, wasn’t up for any national awards for hisperformance on the field, throwing for only 1,988 yards and 12 touchdowns. Buthe didn’t make mistakes either, throwing five interceptions.
He is one of eight finalists for the Socrates Award, which goes to someone”who best exemplifies excellence in academics and athletics.”
Krenzel’s study time was cut back this fall as his focus turned to thefootball field. He wasn’t able to match his 3.71 grade point average, settlingfor a 3.3 last quarter.
“Obviously I would have liked to do better,” he said. “But at the sametime I understand that I get what I deserve from the work I put in. I took somedifficult classes combined with a little less effort because of the time withfootball, so I got what I expected.”
Krenzel doesn’t have gaudy statistics, but he is 14-1 as a starter and has aknack for coming through in clutch moments.
The biggest play of the Buckeyes’ season came against Purdue, when Krenzelthrew a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins with 1:37 remaining.
“He doesn’t get rattled,” Buckeyes offensive lineman Shane Olivea said.”He’s really tough. He’s someone you want to have in that huddle onfourth-and-1. There is no one else I want throwing that ball.”
Krenzel also led OSU on late game-winning drives against Cincinnati,Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.
“If we didn’t have some people making plays in the passing game, wewouldn’t be here,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said.
Krenzel, the only Michigan native on the Buckeyes, first made his mark bybeating the Wolverines in his first start last year.
He followed that up with another win against Ohio State’s chief rival thisyear, becoming the first Buckeyes’ quarterback to beat Michigan in consecutiveyears since Cornelius Greene in 1974-75.
In between those big wins, he had to fight to keep his job. He was benchedafter the first quarter in last season’s Outback Bowl and didn’t win thestarting job this year until the end of fall practice.
Even now, Krenzel faces questions about his ability. Most people credit theteam’s defense and running game for its success.
“I don’t really pay attention to what other people have to say,” he said.”I don’t watch the news or read the paper. I know I have the confidence inmyself, and I feel my teammates have that confidence in me.”
The Buckeyes were tied for the fewest touchdowns in the Big Ten duringconference play (21), had the fewest total yards (340.6 per game), and weresecond-to-last in passing yards (165).
But it’s Krenzel’s steady leadership that impresses his teammates most.
“I would be in the huddle nervous, and you look at Craig and he gives youmore confidence,” running back Maurice Clarett said. “He’s not worried aboutit, so why should I be.”
