Cohen excels in classroom, on field

Bartlett graduate Joel Cohen is a textbook success story.

In high school at Bartlett, Cohen sported an unsightly 1.6 grade-point average.

"To be totally honest, I was lazy and wasn't driven," said Cohen. "But I found an idea that I wanted to pursue and that was trying to play college football."

Cohen's college football trek first took him to the College of DuPage and then led him to Oregon State where he finished up his career last month as the starting long snapper in front of a national television audience at the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco at AT & T Park.

The 6-foot, 245-pound Cohen, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to an earlier knee injury, made 30 career starts for the Beavers.

But more importantly for him, he finished his career as a member of the Pac-10 Conference all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.

"When I had that idea to play college football and then you think about the fact that you could lose it because the NCAA mandates grades, to lose this because of grades, I wasn't going to let that happen," said Cohen. "Through that I found out I was not that stupid and could actually read and write -- things I neglected in high school. I'm more proud of the fact I was able to turn things around from an academic standpoint. When I got here academics weren't something that meant a lot to me. Now it means the world to me. I'm glad I accomplished the things I set out to do and was able to find a passion for education."

Cohen said the gravity of what he's been able to accomplish still hasn't fully sunk in yet.

"It's a very fulfilling thing," he said. "Most people play their last high school game and think their career is all over. Anytime you can go above and beyond that whether it's junior college or division one, two or three, it's a very fulfilling felling. Anybody that has done that knows they are very fortunate. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to do what I did and I got a college degree out of it. I threw a ball between my legs and got to go to places like USC and UCLA and I got to go to school. It's been a very interesting journey."

But Cohen said he can remember back to his final high school game at Bartlett and knew he might not be facing his swan song in football quite yet.

"I can't say I knew something like this was going to happen," said Cohen. "This is beyond anything I have ever imagined. My last high school game was at Elgin and I didn't have a feeling it was over for me. I would have been happy playing junior college. But this is beyond anything. It's a surreal feeling to go from having a 1.6 GPA to academic all-conference."

Sometimes Cohen would wake up and look out his window at Oregon State in amazement.

"Words can't explain it," said Cohen. "It's an awesome feeling. You wake up and say, '(wow).' I live across the street from the stadium. I wake up and I see a giant 47,000 seat place. You almost have to laugh. You wonder how it happens to you. You watch it on TV and you wonder what it would be like to be in that position. I've been in that position with the police escorts to the stadium and playing at the Rose Bowl and the chartered jets. Holy (cow). You can only imagine. It's amazing to experience those kinds of things. It definitely changes you as a person."

Cohen said his position as a long snapper also helped him in his overall journey in college.

"It's a nerve-racking thing," said Cohen. "If you can long snap in high school and college, you can handle pressure in just about anything. At this level, especially. They want that ball at a certain side of the body and a specific height, granted that never happens. And depending where you are playing at there are 50-100,000 people there. And if it's on TV, there are endless people watching. Anything that goes wrong, the announcer is going to call out my name before anybody else. To do this, you have to have (a lot of courage)."

Cohen, who graduated in December with a degree in history, took only one class during the football season (Economics 330).

"It was a hard class, but with only one class in college and being used to taking 12 credit hours a term, it was easier to focus on just one," said Cohen.

Cohen is currently doing his teaching practicum at Corvallis High School in Oregon.

"I'm on scholarship for the rest of the year," said Cohen. "I'm taking 6 hours of practicum each term and 6 hours of coursework."

And Cohen has some advice that any youngster can take to heart.

"I guess the greatest thing about it for any kids that are reading the newspaper," said Cohen. "If you set your mind to do something, nothing can stop you."

Cohen's father, Steve, said he son will participate in a pro day workout in February along with other invited Pac-10 Conference seniors.

Local MCC athletes honored: McHenry County College women's volleyball player Lindsey Loescher (Crystal Lake South) was recently named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II All-American first team. Teammate Amanda Pagels (Cary-Grove) was named to the NJCAA Division II All-American second team. Loescher and Pagels helped lead MCC to its third straight district title and another appearance in the NJCAA national tournament. MCC has made the national tournament 4 of the last 5 seasons. MCC finished 40-9 this past season.

Vierneisel update: Jacobs alum Eric Vierneisel has played in 12 of Cal's 13 men's basketball games this season. Vierneisel has started 4 games and is averaging 20.5 minutes of playing time per game. In those 12 games, Vierneisel is averaging 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He has 28 assists against just 9 turnovers and has also made eight 3-pointers for the Bears, who were 10-3 overall to start the week.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.