2008 Great Miami River Days
2008 Greek Festival
Miami RedHawks football
Football stars shine at banquet
Thursday, April 24, 2008
DAYTON — Centerville High School football players Ryan Donnini and David Fleming won the Sonny Unger Awards given out Wednesday, April 23, at the Dayton Convention Center.
But they probably weren't the reason several hundred people paid to see the program featuring ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit and former Ohio State and current NFL players A.J. Hawk, Mike Nugent, Mike Vrabel and Anthony Gonzalez.
Extras
The ever-growing event featured Centerville's band, a handful of Ohio State cheerleaders, giant video screens, a silent auction and a pre-dinner VIP room for people who paid to mingle with the big names.
A few quotes from the night's proceedings, highlighted by Vrabel's take on what he respects about New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick:
• "I think it's, first of all, his game-day fashion sense and style. ... When the Patriots went 16-0 and 17-0 and 18-0, does anybody know what color sweatshirt did Bill Belichick wear? Gray. Anybody happen to turn on the Super Bowl? What did he go with? Red. ... I thought, 'It's going to be a long day.'
"You know exactly where you stand — good or bad. You know what's expected of you. He does a great job of videotaping signs — you have a pretty good idea of what opponents are going to try to do."
When told this is the age of YouTube, Vrabel said:
"I don't have to go there until mid-May. I'm not like one of these company guys (like Nugent and Hawk) that get on a plane to fly back (to team events).
• "I love Todd (Boeckman), he's one of my best friends, but he's got to get out of college." — Gonzalez, on OSU's soon-to-be 24-year-old quarterback.
• "He's got better players than everybody else. There's a lot of truth in that." — Hawk, when asked why Ohio State coach Jim Tressel wins so much.
• "The NFL is not just really about talent. The talent is there on every team. It's whoever can play a full game on game day." — Nugent, whose New York Jets teams have gone 4-12, 10-6 and 4-12.
• "If I knew I was going to play this long, I would have taken better care of myself." — Vrabel, who has played 11 NFL seasons.
• "At this point, I could be playing for the Bengals tomorrow. Why would I say anything (bad) about the Bengals? " — Vrabel.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.
