Germaine caps record year with Buckeyes' MVP award

Joe Germaine thanks the fans after being named Ohio State's most Valuable Player. February 2, 1999 After being named Chicago Tribune Silver Football award winner as MVP of the Big Ten, Ohio State quarterback Joe Germaine's election by the players as MVP of his own 1998 team figured to be a slam dunk. It was. Yet, Germaine seemed surprised as coach John Cooper called his name at the appreciation banquet last night. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 1,800 that turned out at the Greater Columbus Convention Center to honor OSU's second No. 2 team in three years. "To be able to be recognized by your teammates, it's great,'' Germaine said. "But that's not really the big part of it. I'm just happy I was able to be a part of the tradition here. That's what I'll take with me forever.'' That, some hardware from last night, including the Archie Griffin award as the team's outstanding offensive player, and 11 school records, among them the season mark for yards passing (3,330). Not bad for a player who was low man on the totem pole when he arrived as a junior college transfer in 1995. He shared the quarterback job with Stanley Jackson in 1996 and '97, then took the starting job this season, leading the Buckeyes (11-1) on a nine-game run as No. 1 in the country before a loss to Michigan State, then to wins over Michigan and Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. "I was kind of at the low of lows, and I had a lot of work ahead of me when I first got here,'' Germaine said. "But I had a lot of great coaches and a lot of great players around me to get me where I am today.'' One was record-smashing receiver David Boston. Headed for the NFL a year early, he took home the Paul Warfield award (outsanding receiver) and the Woody Hayes award as outstanding player in the Michigan game. Junior Ben Gilbert, Jim Parker Award winner as the top offensive lineman, voted for Germaine for MVP. "A lot of people think Joe is a quiet guy, but he does show a lot of leadership out in the huddle,'' Gilbert said. "Without him, I don't think we could have won that many games. Not at all. So he deserved it.'' Junior Michael Wiley won the Rex Kern Award as the best back, and junior Andy Katzenmoyer, also headed for the NFL a year early, took the Randy Gradishar Award as the best linebacker. Katzenmoyer paid tribute to several people, including defensive coordinator Fred Pagac. "I want to thank coach Pagac for taking an overweight white kid who could run a little bit and making him into something that's pretty good now,'' Katzenmoyer said. Senior All-American cornerback Antoine Winfield, the 1997 MVP, this year settled for the Bill Willis Award as the outstanding defensive player and the Arnie Chonko award as the outstanding defensive back. Senior linebacker Jerry Rudzinski was named top scholar-athlete and was voted by the team as the Bo Rein Award winner as most inspirational. Sophomore Brent Johnson, who led the team with seven sacks, took the Jack Stephenson Award as best defensive lineman. Freshmen Steve Bellisari and Derek Ross shared the Ike Kelley Award as best special teams players, and Jamar Martin, Mike Collins and Ryan Pickett were named the best first-year players. HIGH NOON -- Highly sought receiver Reggie Brown of Carrollton, Ga., said last night that he will announce his college choice at noon Wednesday. He maintained that his two finalists are OSU and Georgia.