CHICAGO — The veteran CYO coach stepped into the huddle like he usually did, providing direction and seeking to keep things very simple while establishing the football foundation for his anxious and wide-eyed young players.
As a group of his second and third stringers scrimmaged against the first-team defense, the coach told a fourth grader playing quarterback in a league dominated by sixth graders that on the next play they would just throw deep to the wide receiver.
But the little guy had observed how the defense lined up on the previous play, and the fledgling quarterback suggested to his coach that they consider the tight end as an option and not just throw the bomb on the outside.
“He noticed where the cornerback was playing, and he was talking about how he thought the play might develop,” Our Lady of Perpetual Help coach Mark Sutter said. “And the kid was only nine years old at the time.”
After eventually tearing up the CYO league, twice being named the Toledo City League player of the year at Central Catholic, and then winning the MVP award with the Ohio State Buckeyes last season, that same kid will be playing wide receiver for the Chicago Bears Sunday.
Dane Sanzenbacher’s debut in the National Football League comes with Sutter’s fingerprints on it.
“He’s still one of my guys,” Sutter said. “So, of course, there is a tremendous sense of pride involved with him making it to the NFL. I’m not going to say I knew all along he’d make it this far because nobody knows how kids will eventually turn out, but I can say he was a special talent way back then. He saw the whole field in a way most kids never do.”
After fighting his way into the action as a fourth grader, Sanzenbacher played wide receiver, safety, and quarterback in CYO the next two years, moving around to where the OLPH team could best utilize his talents.
“He just had this grasp of the game — he sucked up knowledge so well,” Sutter said. “I never had to tell him anything twice.”
Kevin Branyan also coached in the OLPH program at the same time and had similar observations about Sanzenbacher as a young football player.
“From the moment he first stepped out on the field, he was out-performing some of the kids two years older. We knew he was going to be something rare, something very special,” Branyan said.
“You come across kids like that once in a blue moon. Our biggest issue was deciding where to play him, because there was so much talent there. He was our best receiver, best runner, best defender, and he could really throw the ball too.”
At Central Catholic, Sanzenbacher led the Irish to the City League title and a state championship as a receiver, defensive back, and kick returner. In a playoff victory over Tiffin Columbian, Sanzenbacher set up two touchdowns with receptions and runs, and he intercepted two passes while defending Tiffin’s best receiver.
He had a pair of touchdown receptions in the next game, then in the regional final against an Avon Lake team ranked No. 1 in the state, Sanzenbacher scored on catches of 47 and 11 yards and returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown.
“Those weren’t just good games, they were ridiculous feats,” Central Catholic coach Greg Dempsey said. “A lot of people don’t get to where they should because they don’t do the little things, and he is where he is because of everything he’s done. That’s the biggest thing about him — he’s never wasted an opportunity.”
Sanzenbacher parlayed the chance to work out for the Ohio State coaches in the summer before his senior year into an instant scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.
“We were impressed with his competitive nature and his football smarts,” former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said after Sanzenbacher emerged as a playmaker for the Buckeyes. “And we were convinced he was a quality young man who would be an asset to our program.”
While Sanzenbacher’s size at 5-11 and 180 pounds might have made it seem like Tressel was rolling the dice and hoping Sanzenbacher would pan out, Branyan doubted that was even part of the rationale.
“Tressel didn’t look at Dane’s size and think he was taking some kind of great risk. He knew exactly what he was getting,” Branyan said.
While earning last season’s MVP award, Sanzenbacher led Ohio State and was second in the Big Ten with 55 receptions for 948 yards, and his 11 touchdown catches also ranked second in the conference. His career total of 1,879 receiving yards ranks 10th all-time at OSU. He had 19 career touchdown receptions, including a school record four against Eastern Michigan last season.
The single play Ohio State fans recall most fondly from Sanzenbacher’s college career is likely his twisting, leaping catch at the Iowa 2-yard line, setting up the winning score against the Hawkeyes late in 2010, with the Big Ten title hanging in the balance.
“Dane Sanzenbacher’s a phenomenal player,” said Darrell Hazell, the receivers coach at Ohio State during Sanzenbacher’s career and now the head coach at Kent State, as Hazell reflected on Sanzenbacher’s OSU accomplishments and the outlook for him catching on in the NFL.
“He will not allow anyone to outwork him. He’ll pay attention to every single detail. He’ll learn the playbook in a matter of days. He’ll compete as hard as anybody on the field to give himself a chance to be successful at that level.”
Sanzenbacher, who earned a business degree from Ohio State, was an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Bears. He was acutely aware of the long-shot nature of his audition
“When you’re coming in as an undrafted guy, you know it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Sanzenbacher said. “You might not get the number of reps as other guys, but my mindset was that when you do get those chances, you have to do something that’s going to make them remember you, make the coaching staff remember you, so that’s just what I tried to do.”
Despite the strike-shortened window of opportunity in training camp, Sanzenbacher digested the Bears’ playbook, learned the three wide receiver positions, and caught 10 passes in the preseason for 107 yards. Also playing on special teams, he had a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Browns that was brought back due to a penalty.
The Bears put Sanzenbacher on their roster for the start of the season, and he will wear No. 18 against the Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field Sunday.
“I love his work habits and how well he competes,” Chicago offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. “He’s a quick study in our offense. For a rookie to come in and retain all that and do it well is kind of remarkable.”
His CYO coach made similar observations more than a decade ago.
“As an old defensive back, I always noticed how precise his patterns were, and, of course, he would catch anything you threw at him,” Sutter said.
“But there’s no way you get to that level without putting in the time. I’ve been around this game long enough to know that certain people have the talent and the skills, but not all of them are willing to do the work. This is a smart, tough kid, and he is where he is because the dude works his butt off.”
Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com, 419-724-6510, or on Twitter @MattMarkey
First Published September 11, 2011, 5:29 a.m.
