Bowling Green State University Athletics
Sanders & Sharon: This Duo is Dynamic
November 21, 2005 | Football
Nov. 21, 2005
By JACK CARLE, Sentinel Sports Editor - In this case the numbers don't lie.
The offensive production of Steve Sanders and Charles Sharon has helped Bowling Green become one of the top football teams in the Mid-American Conference.
Now Sanders, Sharon and their senior teammates are preparing for the final home game of their careers against arch-rival Toledo with the MAC East title at stake. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday in Perry Stadium.
 Steve Sanders (BGSU Athletic Communications  |
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For Sanders, it hasn't been an easy road to arrive at the end of his college career as one of best receivers in school history.
"In the early years he was not a program kid," BG head coach Gregg Brandon said. "He was very selfish, wasn't going to class, wasn't doing what he needed to do in the weight room. He was chirping a lot and not getting it done.
"The last couple of years he's done a 180 and he's bought into it to where he's been elected a captain ... He's really become a true role model ... It's really a great credit to Steve and his work ethic."
There are several factors involved in Sanders' turnaround, including a renewed faith, the birth of a son and the positive influence of Zach Azzanni, BG's wide receivers coach.
"He's just a good man," Sanders said about Azzanni. "We do a lot of things position-wise, besides on the field drills. We really try to find out who we are as men. We really want to be good men after football.
"We want to get something from football and be able to use it in our lives."
Sanders and Sharon were roommates as freshmen and have developed a bond on and off the field.
"I can get energy from him and he can do the same from me," Sanders said.
Sharon said he has seen his friend mature as a person. That added maturity, combined with Sanders' hard work, has made him into a top-level receiver.
"He's a great player right now," Sharon said. "He's really concentrating on the little stuff in football and off the field."
While Sanders struggled to find the field as a redshirt freshman, Sharon was already working his way into the mix and ultimately to the top of several categories in Bowling Green's record book.
"He is a big-play kid who has a great work ethic. Coach Azzanni will tell you that he brings his lunch pail every day," Brandon said. "He is a real disciplined player, runs great routes, catches the ball consistently, and can make the big play. That's what I like about Chuck."
Both receivers are normally sure-handed with the flair for the spectacular.
Sanders can go across the middle and turn an 8-yard pass into a long gainer before the opposing defenses can even react.
In a scouting report on himself, given as an opposing coach, Sanders said: "He's a big physical receiver, who can run and find different areas in the zone. His favorite route is the post route; he loves to go across the middle. He's strong with the ball going across the middle."
Sanders has eight career games with 100 or more receiving yards and he has seven games in which he has caught two or more touchdown passes.
"Steve can go up in a crowd and catch a ball when he's getting his arms hit. He makes strong catches," Brandon said. "Once he gets going in the open field, he's going to be hard to run down because he's such a strider."
Sharon uses his speed to help him get open and when the ball is headed his way, he can make the catch. He has eight career multi-touchdown games and 10 games with 100 or more yards receiving.
The touchdown Sharon will be remembered for was a 32-yard scoring strike on a fourth-and-14 play with 2:08 remaining in the game to put BG ahead to stay, 27-24 over 16th-ranked Purdue in 2003.
Sharon has also made one-handed catches while leaping high in the air or going horizontal. >
"Chuck's more of a phone-booth guy. He can make you miss in there (a small area), change (directions) and dance around," Brandon said.
"I'm just going for the football, it's just a reaction," Sharon said. "Sometimes I don't know what happened until we watch it on film."
Sharon is BG's career leader in all-purpose yards, receiving yards, total receptions and receiving touchdowns.
"He's an amazing player," Sanders said about Sharon. "Some of the plays he makes out there on the field, I'm just in amazement. Sometimes I just want to look and see what he's doing and I feed off of him a lot out there.
"I'm proud of the things he's done, as far as he's come, breaking all the records and things like that."
While all the records are nice, victories are the numbers that matter most to both players. To that end the pair are concentrating on beating Toledo and extending the season to include a MAC championship game and a third straight appearance in a bowl game.
