Rodney Dangerfield has always complained about not getting any respect.
If anyone has gotten less respect than Dangerfield, it would have to be either Miami (Fla.) quarterback Ken Dorsey or his Ohio State counterpart Craig Krenzel. Both have lost only one game as a starter (Dorsey is 38-1 and Krenzel is 14-1).
Yet, Dorsey and Krenzel are both among the softest-spoken players on their team.
And when it comes to individual awards, Dorsey and Krenzel have both been overlooked as the top signal callers in the nation.
Dorsey finished fifth in this year’s Heisman Trophy voting and has been a mere finalist for every national quarterback award of the past two seasons, while Krenzel earned Second Team All Big Ten honors.
But neither quarterback would not have it any other way.
“I haven’t gone out thinking I have anything to prove,” Dorsey said. “I have just been trying to win football games.”
While Dorsey isn’t worried about the respect he gets from other teams and the media, his coaches think the senior doesn’t get everything that is due to him.
“From our camp, he probably doesn’t get the respect he deserves,” Miami football coach Larry Coker said. “We know what our team is with Ken Dorsey, and we know what our team would be without him. You just look at his record and he’s only fallen one time.”
Dorsey’s laid-back attitude has invited some friendly teasing from his teammates.
“I fit the Miami mold perfectly, and Ken Dorsey doesn’t,” said Miami center and Dorsey’s roommate Brett Romberg. “You figure a quarterback would be a good-looking fellow who can definitely pick up a lady if he wants. He doesn’t care. He’s totally 100 percent focused on what the football team is supposed to do.”
Even the Hurricane’s defensive unit can see Dorsey’s personality.
“He’s a pretty laid-back guy,” said defensive lineman Matt Walters.
“Most people would think being the starting quarterback for the University of Miami that he would thrust himself into the the limelight, but he’s not. You’re not going to find him out late at night on South Beach or anything like that.”
That focus is what has made Dorsey a team leader and two-time captain for the Hurricanes.
While he may not get the national recognition he deserves, Dorsey’s teammates believe he’ll get all the credit if the Hurricanes win their second consecutive national championship.
“When it’s all said and done, he’ll get the credit he deserves,” Walters said. “It’s hard to fill Ken Dorsey’s footsteps because he’s done it right every time.”
Dorsey doesn’t have to look very far to find a quarterback in the same position.
In his one-plus seasons as a starter, Krenzel has led the Buckeyes to a 14-1 record, including two straight wins against arch-rival Michigan. Also, Krenzel has helped lead OSU to a chance at winning its first national championship since 1968.
Still, Krenzel has been overlooked all season because of the breakout performance of freshman tailback Maurice Clarett and the toughness of the Buckeye defense.
Like Dorsey, Krenzel hasn’t let the apparent snub bother him on or off the field.
“He doesn’t get rattled,” said OSU offensive lineman Shane Olivea. “He’s really tough. This year he’s been able to show that he’s able to do what he’s able to do. There is no one else I want throwing the ball.”
And while Krenzel is not the most outspoken player on OSU’s roster, he has not been afraid to take control of the offensive huddle, and his calmness has rubbed off on other players.
“Sometimes I would be in the huddle, nervous. And you look at Craig, and he gives you more confidence,” Clarett said.
