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ing or demeaning. He really has that quality and that characteristic that I think makes the players buy into what he's trying to teach them." Laying groundwork From that first job, Hazell bounced around, gaining experience and mentors at Eastern Illinois, Pennsylvania, Western Michigan, Army, West Virginia and Rutgers before landing a job that may have changed his life. Jim Tressel first met Hazell while Hazell was an assistant at Oberlin — Hazell was recruiting Youngstown East and Youngstown Rayen while Tressel was head coach at Youngstown State. Tressel eventually accepted the head coaching job at Ohio State in 2001, and when his program had an opening for a wide receivers coach, Tressel hired Hazell, based some off recommendations from Hazell's former boss at West Virginia Don Nehlen. After only one season as receivers coach, Tressel promoted Hazell to assistant head coach, a role he held from 2005-2010. But he never gave up coaching the receivers and made a lasting impact on that group. He didn't only develop NFL draft picks — Gonzalez, Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr., among the first-rounders — but also enduring relationships. "Coach Hazell to this day is probably one of the best coaches I've had, one of my favorite coaches and I was fortunate enough to have him at Ohio State for four years," said current Detroit Lions receiver Brian Robiskie, a second-round pick. "Over a four-year span, on the field, off the field, I never had as much growth as I've had with him. He just does a great job of taking care of his guys, does a great job of making sure they're prepared for whatever they're going to face in a game. Especially off the field, he always, always, always wants to know what's going on with his guys and what is going on in their everyday life with school or family or whatever it is. He's always taken special relationships with his guys. Coaches that tend to do that tend to be pretty good." Hazell's expectations on the field always were high — and he doesn't accept underachieving — but he taught his players the tools so they could be successful. Former players praised his attention to detail, the way he structured Kent State Hazell has found a balance between being firm yet fair with his players, demanding performance and accountability but also being trusted enough to become a mentor. He also can have some fun with them. didate, but it'd take some convincing. So he had multiple conversations with Hazell about the opportunity, about why he thought it'd suit him and reminded him that if he tried it and didn't like it, he could move on. That convinced Hazell enough to take a meeting with Hunsinger, who picked him up at his dorm and took him to lunch. Hunsinger was immediately struck. "He seemed way more mature than a senior in college," Hunsinger said. "His mannerisms were polished, of someone who had been around the block and who understood what was going on in the world, and I was just totally impressed with someone that age being that mature and that responsible." After a couple more phone conversations, Hazell accepted the running backs coach position on Hunsinger's staff. "I definitely want to take credit for that today," Heacock joked about leading Hazell into the profession. It was an adjustment initially, though, Hazell admitted. At Oberlin, he was the same age as some of the players he coached and had to learn to separate himself. Hunsinger didn't notice any issues. "He was excellent," Hunsinger said. "He really got along well with all the guys that he was coaching with. "He can be tough on the kids but he does it in a way that's not shamGBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com Drey Mingo—Atlanta, Ga. Drey is one of five members of the women's basketball team to earn academic All-Big Ten honors on the Fall 2012 semester. In all 51 Boilermaker fall 2012 athletes earned this distinction. Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 3 • 9