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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Lichtensteiger Gets his Chance to Play in Ohio Stadium
October 06, 2006 | Football
Oct. 6, 2006
By JACK CARLE, Sentinel Sports Editor - Hitting the summer camp trail is important to high school football players looking to earn a scholarship.
That was the case for Kory Lichtensteiger when he was attending Crestview High School near Van Wert. He went to Ohio State's camp hoping to get noticed by the Buckeyes.
Instead Lichtensteiger, now 6-feet-3, 305 pounds, caught the attention of Bowling Green assistant coach Greg Studrawa.
The rest is history as Lichtensteiger gave up his dream of playing for the Buckeyes and is currently in his third season as a starter on the offensive line for the Falcons. Lichtensteiger and his teammates face Ohio State Saturday with kickoff at 3:40 p.m. in Ohio Stadium.
"I was a huge Ohio State fan growing up," Lichtensteiger said. "Early in my high school career when I hadn't been through enough of the recruiting process, I definitely thought I was going to end up at Ohio State," he added. "Probably about my junior year I started to realize that wasn't a very good possibility.
"They (Ohio State) invite a whole bunch of different coaches down to help run the camp. It gives those coaches a chance to see recruits too ... It's actually where I ended up meeting Coach `Stud' so it was good that I went to those camps."
After sitting out as a redshirt in 2003, Lichtensteiger has been a rock for the Falcons, having started 28 straight games. He was a second-team all-conference selection in both 2004 and 2005.
"He could be playing for any team right now, Big Ten, ACC, anywhere. That's how good he is," said Anthony Turner, BG's starting quarterback. "He has quick feet, quick hands and is strong and smart."
Lichtensteiger played his first two seasons at left guard before moving to center this season. He has embraced the switch, the same one former teammate Scott Mruczkowski made during his career. Mruczkowski is now playing in the National Football League.
"It's more of a fit for me. It's suited to my abilities better," Lichtensteiger said about center. "I can use my quickness a little bit better than I could at guard. It's a better combination of things for me.
"I think it's made the level of my physical play go up a lot," he added. "A lot of times the guard gets locked on a man and we're double-teaming him. I catch up a little later and I'm able to slam him and get a good shot on him and get a few knockdowns that way."
Turner likes having Lichtensteiger in the middle.
"It's a huge comfort zone because nothing's coming from the middle," Turner said. "He makes a lot of plays on the offensive line. He picks up a lot of blocks that guys let go."
Mruczkowski, who is with the San Diego Chargers after being selected in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft, is still a mentor to Lichtensteiger. The two talk on the phone, most recently after BG's loss to Kent State.
"I think of Scott a lot of times, just when I'm preparing for stuff and the way he would have gone about things," Lichtensteiger said.
Lichtensteiger said he stole the way he snaps the ball to the quarterback in BG's shotgun formation from Mruczkowski.
When Bowling Green played at Ohio State in 2003, Lichtensteiger was on the sidelines as he was being redshirted.
This time he'll be going against OSU's defensive front, including tackles Quinn Pitcock, 6-3, 295, who is an All-America candidate, and David Patterson, 6-3, 285. The pair have played in 83 games during their OSU careers.
Lichtensteiger is looking forward to the challenge.
"You just kind of want to see how you do against the elite of the nation to gauge yourself, see where you're at. That should be fun," he said. "I'm not scared or intimidated by that at all. I'm looking forward to it."
There's also a sidelight for fans in Lichtensteiger's hometown. Joel Penton, a backup defensive tackle for the Buckeyes, is from Van Wert High School.
"A lot of people are excited about that matchup back home even though we didn't play against each other in high school," Lichtensteiger said.
No matter who Lichtensteiger is matched up against, he knows the line play is going to be critical.
"It starts and ends with the line," Lichtensteiger said. "If the defense is winning the battle up front that puts so much unnecessary pressure on the skilled guys to perform at a higher level. But if the offense line is giving time and making holes, it makes those skilled guys jobs a lot easier and takes the pressure off of them."
