Bellbrook's Austin Spitler is waiting for OSU call
By Sean McClelland
Dayton Daily News
BELLBROOK | With so many college offers pouring in, Austin Spitler's head is spinning. What's a 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker with 4.6 speed to do?
Make a decision already, you say? Well, it's not that simple. The Bellbrook standout can play in the Big Ten next year if he chooses. Wisconsin, Northwestern and Indiana have the red carpet rolled out. Or he can head for the West Coast. Stanford wants him because his 3.5 grade-point average suggests he can cut it academically. Or he could go almost anywhere in between.
Problem is, Spitler bleeds scarlet and gray. He knows the difference between Andy Katzenmoyer — "Not the best role model," he says — and Eddie George, who he admires greatly. So, before committing to spend the next several years far away from family and friends, he plays the waiting game with Ohio State.
"They said they were going to get it moving, get it going," said Spitler, whose father attended OSU but did not play football. "Hopefully, good things will come soon."
Not that he would have any fierce objection to attending such a fine school as Wisconsin (or even Cincinnati or West Virginia, who recently have become serious). Not that he isn't flattered by the interest. It's just that the Buckeyes are the Buckeyes, and if you're one of the top players in Ohio, especially if you play defense, you fall asleep every night with Hang on Sloopy playing in your head.
Spitler, who attended the Buckeyes' last two home games and briefly met Jim Tressel, has been told to expect a decision from OSU in about a week. Meanwhile, the telephone keeps ringing, testing his daily focus as Bellbrook prepares for Saturday's first-round playoff game against visiting St. Mary's Memorial.
"It's a little busy, but what can you do?" Spitler said. "Coaches call at night from about 6:30 to 10. If anything, it's probably picked up lately. All of a sudden, I'm hearing from schools I had never heard from."
It tends to happen that way to uncommitted players of Spitler's status. If you're Iowa or Minnesota, you figure what's the harm in asking. And before you know it, a telethon is breaking out in the Spitler house.
"I guess word kind of gets around sometimes," Spitler said. "But right now I'm worried about winning. Senior year, you want to go as far as you can. My goal is making it to state. I've never done that. I'm definitely concentrating on high school right now."
The leading tackler on a fearsome defense, Spitler has been living in opposing backfields, willing Bellbrook from the depths of a demoralizing 0-2 start that featured back-to-back overtime losses to Miamisburg and Alter. The Golden Eagles, in the playoffs for the fifth time in coach Kevin Basinger's eight seasons, are soaring now on the wings of a seven-game winning streak, threatening not to look back.
"The kids started to believe a little bit more each week," the low-key Basinger said.
A win over Brookville in Week 3 corresponded with a change of quarterbacks, and with Spitler continuing to set the tone on defense, the victories started adding up.
"We shouldn't have lost that first game, and when the same thing happened in the second game, everybody was a little shocked and down," Spitler said. "We just tried to have a positive attitude. Ever since, we've been on a roll."
And as the weeks passed, Spitler, not outgoing by nature, began finding his voice.
"I've tried to work on my vocal skills," he said. "I'm not outspoken, but when I say something, kids know I mean it for real. Lead by example, do the right things and kids will follow you."
"They just respond to him," said Basinger. "It's easy to follow him because of his size. You think, here's this big, tough guy. But he's a very polite, very nice kid with a good head on his shoulders."
Yet another reason the phone won't stop ringing.
