Getting a read on OSU’s Kurt

[Guest guest]

Kurt does a lot of reading:

Kurt — A senior safety and a captain of the Ohio State football team, the

Northmont High product reads opposing quarterbacks' eyes and intentions so well

that he's one of just 31 players in the nation on the preseason watch list for

the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the best defensive back in college football.

— He, like the rest of the Buckeye seniors — per OSU coach Jim Tressel's request

— just finished reading " The Lone Survivor, " a true account by a Navy SEAL that

showcases in heart-wrenching fashion both American heroism and Afghan humanity.

— He spent the offseason visiting grade schools in the Miami Valley and Columbus

where — among other things — he read Dr. Seuss books to the kids.

— After an E-mail message from his dad — longtime area coach and school

administrator, Ron , who suggested he give his bible the same attention

he gives his cell phone — Kurt said he reads scripture daily.

He even sports a tattoo — 8:12 — which begins: " I am the light of the

world…. "

And Kurt has gone out of his way to shed that light to others, be it at

the Dayton VA Hospital on West Third or to other players on his OSU team.

Among other things, he's president of the OSU chapter of Uplifting Athletes, a

group that uses college football players to raise funds and awareness for rare

diseases. He recently ran a video game tournament at a local restaurant to raise

funds for the neurological disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.

Because of such involvements, he's been nominated for the Allstate/ American

Football Coaches Association " Good Works Team, " which honors athletes who give

to others " through selfless contributions and commendable acts of kindness. "

That was especially evident last Christmas Eve when — accompanied by Buck

teammates Jake Ballard from Springboro and Wayne High's Donnie Evege — he

reached out to a burg teenager when he needed it most.

burg's Dan Lassiter knows first hand of 's good deedsTalk about

reading the moment, could not have done it better.

That story — and several others — turned into my column for today's newspaper.

It also can be found up above on this Web page.

I can tell you this, the more you get to know about Kurt , the more you

realize he is one of the most compelling players in all of college football this

season.

[Guest guest]

The story is pretty simple. , a football player at OHS was instrumental

in organizing the recent Tyrell Pryor fundraiser for CMT/ Go back in the

Archives and search for the story on how this came to be. Both and Pryor

are teamates. Pryor's father has CMT.

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