Sunday, December 17, 2000
Rosfeld grows with UC football
By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Rosfeld
|
Back when Doug Rosfeld first arrived on the University of Cincinnati campus in the summer of 1997, the Bearcats were coming off back-to-back 6-5 seasons, hadn't had a standout year since 1993 (8-3) and hadn't played in a bowl game since 1950.
Now the Moeller High grad has played on two standout teams, is headed to his second bowl game (Dec. 27 in Detroit) and may one day be looked upon as the The Recruit Who Turned Things Around ... if UC keeps winning and continues to open the local high school spigot wider and wider.
But four years ago, this two-time all-conference cen ter with a good chance to play professionally was just another high school runt.
Who could have been predicted Rosfeld would have achieved so much?
Nobody.
When he was being recruited, he was like almost every other slightly undersized prep athlete: He felt compelled to “add” a few phantom pounds to his frame so that the meat merchants wouldn't be scared off.
“I don't want to say I lied, but I was misconveying my true weight because I wanted to get a scholarship,” he said. “I told (recruiters) I was 255, when in actuality I was only about 230.”
He had just turned 17 years old.
He was a high school volleyball player with some hops.
Didn't the UC people wonder where the 25 pounds were when they actually weighed him?
“I'"m sure they did, but nobody said anything to me,” Rosfeld noted. “I hit the weight room hard that summer. I was rehabilitating an injury from an all-star game.”
He rehabilitated under the watchful eye of his sister, Holly, who was a student-trainer at UC. (For the Rosfelds, UC is a family affair: not only is Doug's sister an alum, so are his father, mother, three aunts and brother-in-law; his brother, cousin and girlfriend go there now.)
Between pumping iron and pumping calories at the college-dorm cafeteria, Doug's weight went from phantom to factual; by the time fall camp arrived, he was up to 255. (Judging from what UC coach Rick Minter said last week in recalling the recruiting of Rosfeld — probably the coaches knew all along he was fibbing).
“I remember we had some concerns about his size and his size potential,” Minter said. “But he dispelled our doubts very quickly.”
In UC's Humanitarian Bowl season in 1997, Rosfeld played for two dozen snaps. He and Deontey Kenner, who would go on to become UC's all-time total offense and passing-yards leader, now regard that game as a baptism by fire: center and quarterback — both true freshmen — led the team on a long, touchdown drive, as UC won 35-19.
“Sometimes ones intelligence can be a curse, and that's the way it was with Doug,” Minter said. “Being around the older guys that first summer, and being sharp as a tack, allowed him to get into fall camp quickly, and play a little bit. That meant burning a year of eligibility because we couldn't red-shirt him. I'd love to have him back for another year. But he's going to be a great ambassador and role model for the program.”
Any regrets on Rosfeld's part he didn't redshirt as a freshman?
The only advantage he might have mustered, he says, would be if the extra year had enhanced his attractiveness as a pro. But he's going to get his shot, so it's not something he's worried about.
A quick start meant a full college career.
“Had I redshirted, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to play in that first bowl game,” Rosfeld said. “Had I redshirted, I may not have started my second year here and gone on to be a junior captain.”
Rosfeld, who along with senior linebacker Eddie Johnson are the only two, two-year cap tains in UC history to play in two bowl games, is a history major. His favorite area is European history, especially Medieval and Roman, and he is on target to graduate ahead of his class — in a total of only 31/2 years.
Depending how pro football works out, he sees himself ultimately getting his Master's degree, probably in theology.
As a theologian, he'll carry some weight:
Two hundred and ninety pounds of it.
Meanwhile, he plans to remember his final college game. The Bearcats leave Wednesday for the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.
“I'm going to bring a video camera and record every moment on the airplane because it's the last time I'll be traveling with these guys,” Rosfeld said. “And every moment in the locker room because I know I'm going to miss those times. And the small things that freshmen and sophomores and maybe juniors, too, don't pay attention to — things I'll be doing for the last time. You don't even notice those things until you're a senior. It's just like the seniors told me when I was a freshman.
“It goes by in a flash.”
Bearcats Stories
Xavier 75, Marquette 59
McAfee comes back quietly after injury
SULLIVAN: Wyche might make points for Bengals
Last 2 games an audition for Mitchell
Akili's mom: He's not a quitter
Bengals take time for kids at Children's
Who's got the edge?
By the numbers
Players to watch
NL Central balanced for 2001
DAUGHERTY: We have greater needs than Olympics
Olympic bid has people talking
Best and worst of the week in sports
Best and worst long-term contracts
Collinsworth flying high
Michigan State 46, Kentucky 45
Mighty Ducks 3, Louisville 1
Cyclones 2, Detroit 1
Georgetown (Ky). wins NAIA football title
High School Insider
Ryle wrestlers surprise Campbell Co.
Boys basketball schedule
Girls basketball schedule
Cincinnati boys basketball games
Cincinnati girls basketball games
N.Ky. boys basketball games
N.Ky. girls basketball games
Ohio boys basketball scores
Ohio girls basketball scores
Indiana boys basketball scores
Indiana girls basketball scores
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Kentucky girls basketball scores
Cincinnati high school results
N.Ky. high school results
Small college basketball boxes
Rosfeld grows with UC football
