The move took teamwork and timing, a concerted effort and a common goal. But in the end, they combined their brawn and brains to finish the task.
Not that there was much doubt about their ultimate success; when Craig Krenzel and Ben Hartsock decide to get going, they usually lead Ohio State to the summit.
Last season, quarterback Krenzel and tight end Hartsock combined to provide a steadying hand to an offense paced by the running of freshman tailback Maurice Clarett. The result was a national championship wrapped up with a double-overtime victory over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.
This season, Clarett didn’t suit up for the Buckeyes, his season done in by well-documented off-the-field problems.
But even minus Clarett, the Buckeyes survived, posting a 10-2 regular-season record heading into Friday’s Fiesta Bowl against Big 12 champion Kansas State (11-3).
And for that, Krenzel and Hartsock, both fifth-year seniors, again deserve their share of the credit.
Despite missing two games this season with a hyperextended elbow, Krenzel put up impressive numbers, completing 142-of-254 passes for 1,851 yards, with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions. And the Buckeyes, until their 35-21 regular-season-ending loss at Michigan on Nov. 22, were on track to defend their national title.
Hartsock, too, did his part, catching 33 passes for 290 yards.
But for Hartsock and Krenzel, the chemistry goes beyond the football field.
Hartsock, a biology major, and Krenzel, a molecular genetics major, both aspire to go to medical school.
And while juggling a premed class schedule and a Big Ten football schedule may sound like a superhuman feat, “I haven’t found it terribly difficult,” Krenzel said. “I didn’t want to go to class every day and fall asleep and be bored and maybe have it be a little bit easier.
“I enjoy the personal challenge of having a hard major and playing Division I football.”
Of course, having a natural aptitude for the sciences doesn’t hurt, Hartsock said.
“We take a lot of classes together and he frustrates me,” Hartsock said. “We both get A’s, but he has to study a lot less for his A than I have to do for mine.”
Not that Krenzel and Hartsock are serious, stolid, straight arrows all the time. In fact, they are, as right tackle Shane Olivea discovered, as proficient at high jinks as at getting high scores on exams.
One day before practice, Krenzel and Hartsock noticed Olivea’s car parked in the fire lane at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
“And we’re like, `Man, that’s lazy,'” Hartsock said.
So they did what any quarterback-tight end tandem would–they moved Olivea’s car, pinning it along a fence and leaving him only the rear passenger door accessible for entry.
“So he sent some freshman through the back window to crawl in and get [the car] out,” Hartsock said.
The matter, though, didn’t die there.
Olivea retaliated by letting the air out of one of Hartsock’s tires. Hartsock then emptied a dozen packets of mayonnaise onto Olivea’s windshield.
“I’d say it’s his move,” Hartsock said. “Shane’s too scared to get Krenzel back. He only messes with me. Mr. Quarterback he won’t do anything to.”
Krenzel isn’t so sure.
“My car hasn’t been hit yet, but it will be,” Krenzel said.
With his busy schedule, how will Krenzel find time to keep an eye on his car?
“It’s all about priorities and time management,” Krenzel said.
Most of all, it’s about teamwork.
