Local boy, ex-Ohio State QB Craig Krenzel recalls rivalry games vs. Michigan [Detroit Free Press]

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DUBLIN, Ohio -- Lots of memories, but just two make the office wall in the suite that houses the Arthur Krenzel Lett Insurance Group on the banks of the Scioto River.

The framed pictures belong to Craig Krenzel, the former Ohio State quarterback and multi-sport star from Utica Ford High. They're tributes to Ohio State's perfect season of 2002 -- 14-0 -- when he was named MVP of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl after leading the Buckeyes to a 31-24 victory over the Miami Hurricanes.

The national championship was Ohio State's first in 34 years.

"That was my redshirt junior year," said Krenzel, whose record as a starter was 24-3. "Our win against Michigan that season was huge for us because there were a couple of years in the 1990s that Ohio State was arguably the best football team in the country, but we were just tripped in the Michigan game -- Michigan always pulling the upset.

"We knew that year if we won we'd have a chance to play for the national title. We won, 14-9, here in Columbus and it was a great experience, winning the game at home, the crowd rushing the field."

Krenzel, 30, walked away from football five years ago after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in 2006. Krenzel's NFL career was brief: He played part of one season for the Chicago Bears (who selected him in the fifth round of the 2004 draft) but was released in the off-season. He then went to Cincinnati but never saw game action.

An academic All-America at Ohio State -- with a degree in molecular genetics -- Krenzel bypassed medical school and for the last three years has been a partner with an insurance company. Married with three children, Krenzel remains involved in football: He's a football analyst on Friday afternoons on a radio show in Columbus called "Buckeye Roundtable."

Krenzel met with the Free Press to discuss his career and Saturday's rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan in Ann Arbor. Here are excerpts of the conversation:

Q: What do you most remember about Ohio State's 2001 win in Ann Arbor? (The Buckeyes beat No. 11 Michigan, 26-20).

A: "It was my first start, and it was neat to come back and play in front of friends and family. It was a very unique experience to get my first start in the Ohio State-Michigan game. The history and the tradition of that game, the culmination of all those things."

Q: And then the next time in Ann Arbor (2003)...

A: "We lose, 35-21. Chris Perry rushed for, like, 176 yards and three TDs or something. After that game, a week later, we were still upset about the loss to Michigan -- we could have been playing for a chance for another title game. Even though we had lost to Wisconsin, the way the season was shaking out, we could have been the No. 2 team to slide in there. My buddy Tim Anderson, who was one of defensive tackles, said, 'You know, if you would have told me that we'd score 21 points against Michigan, I'd bet my life we'd win.'

"But Chris Perry played the game of his life."

Q: What did you like best about Michigan week?

A: "It's kind of funny to say this because it's going to sound kind of bad, but one of the things the guys always liked was that it's the last game. The season's a grind. You knew you had Thanksgiving the week after, and that meant time with your family. That was always in the back of our minds. But whether you were playing for John Cooper, who liked to keep it 'business as usual,' or Coach (Jim) Tressel, who when it you came to Michigan, there was two seasons for us: the regular season and the one-game 'Michigan season.'

"Hopefully, 50 years from now the tradition is still what it is, and the rivalry is still what it is."

Q: Tressel isn't at Ohio State anymore. Do you think the community is over the controversy and what happened?

A: "I wouldn't say over it, but we're past it. We're in the recovery process. We're focused on: What does the university need to do? What does the athletic department need to do? And what does the football program do to get back to where we want to be, expect to be, need to be -- not just on the football field but as an academic institution. Ohio State University is bigger than one coach, one player, one group of players, one season."

Contact Jo-Ann Barnas: 313-222-2037 or [email protected] .

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