Bertsch generating lots of D-I attention

Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary plays an independent schedule and therefore finds themselves competing against the top teams in the state of Ohio almost every weekend.

That type of exposure is very valuable, St. Vincent-St. Mary's coach Dan Boarman says, and helps publicize players like defensive tackle Ben Bertsch.

The 6-3, 260-pound Bertsch earned all-Northeast Ohio honorable mention honors for his play as a junior and has drawn the attention of top Division I programs all over the Midwest. Putting a highlight film together on Bertsch was easy according to Boarman.

"His motor never stops running," Coach Boarman said.

"He is relentless; one of these kids who claws, scrapes, and just gets to the ball. He can get blocked, but not for very long. You'd better put him away or he is going to find a way to the ball. He's also got great lateral movement and he can move. He's a 300-plus pound bench guy and a good squat guy. He has the type of strength to play at the next level.

"The other point I want to make about him is he had his best games against the big dogs – the Mooney's and the Ursuline's. He's a competitor. In fact the first Mooney game we were thin on the offensive line and he played both ways and had a heck of a game against them."

Part of the credit for Bertsch's footwork goes to his years of playing basketball, according to Boarman. Translating his on-field success into scholarship offers is now the goal of this off-season.

"We talked long and hard about what he needs to do and the exposure he needs to have," Boarman said.

"We'd like him to probably go to one major camp and a couple smaller camps. Being at St. Vincent-St. Mary's is good exposure in and of itself, but I told him once you find a place you really like, make sure you let them know that you like them because I said this is a two-way street.

Michigan assistant Bruce Tall and Ohio State assistant Jim Bollman have been through the school checking out Bertsch and his teammates during the Spring Evaluation Period. Bertsch also took it upon himself to make campus visits on his own in order to circulate his name among college recruiting circles.

"I know the MAC's have been high. I talked to Akron the other day and they like him a lot," Boarman said. "He's been to several places for recruiting Junior Days. Off the top of my head I think it was Toledo and maybe West Virginia. I know Northwestern was one of them. A lot of people have shown interest in him. He's open to just about anything right now.

"I know a couple of the Junior Days they really liked (him), they just want to further evaluate him. Talking to Michigan, they said they have his highlight tape, but I appreciate these guys when they say, 'the highlight tape is nice, but we want to see him in a game.'"

Boarman has now added a full game film to the end of Bertsch's highlight tape. They expect that along with their other efforts should yield positive results this summer.