Mike Vrabel's parents, his Walsh Jesuit coach celebrate Summit County Sports HOF induction

Chuck and Elaine Vrabel traveled to the Nashville area this past spring to watch their grandson Carter play in a doubleheader for Tennessee Tech University's baseball team.

The couple's son, Tennessee Titans coach and Walsh Jesuit High School graduate Mike Vrabel, met them during the first game and proceeded to unpack a large grill and three coolers from his pickup truck.

Between the two games, Tennessee Tech players visited Mike Vrabel's portable cooking station and, by Chuck's estimation, consumed a combined 75 hot dogs, 35 hamburgers and countless bottles of Gatorade.

When the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame inducted Mike on Tuesday night during its banquet at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron, Chuck and Elaine Vrabel were in attendance along with former longtime Walsh football coach Gerry Rardin.

Chuck accepted the honor on behalf of his son and explained he is most proud of Mike remaining down-to-earth despite his fame as an NFL head coach and former standout edge defender whose best seasons were with the New England Patriots.

“He's always going to be Mike,” Chuck Vrabel said during his speech. “He's won championships, got accolades, three Super Bowls, but it doesn't matter. He's still just Mike. If you were to meet Mike this evening, he would just be Mike, and I'm very, very proud that that's how he behaves and carries himself.”

Later, Chuck told the Beacon Journal, “'He's just Mike' is my way of saying that it hasn't gone to his head. He doesn't think that he's somebody. He still appreciates people, and he's still working.”

Vrabel is working this week on preparing the Titans (2-2) for their AFC South road game Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts (2-2).

Anyone who knows how many hours NFL coaches log could not have possibly been surprised Vrabel didn't attend the SMCSHOF induction ceremony in the thick of football season.

However, Vrabel did send an acceptance speech via video. He thanked his parents, former teammates and coaches, wife, Jen, and sons, Carter and Tyler, an Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman. He also singled out Rardin for the influence he provided at Walsh.

“Coach Rardin just had a way about him,” Vrabel said in the video. “Looking back on the job that he did, it kind of helped shape the coach that I wanted to be. [He] had a great relationship with us in school, around the building, but then also on the football field and being able to hold us accountable.”

Rardin and Vrabel's parents accepted Mike's invitation to attend the Titans' 27-3 loss to the Browns (2-2) on Sept. 24. They had pregame sideline passes at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Vrabel's video shout-out resulted in another amazing experience for Rardin, who coached Walsh for 35 seasons before retiring from coaching in 2014.

“It's hard to put in words how powerful that is,” Rardin said of Vrabel's compliments. “For somebody of his caliber to still be thinking of his high school coach, it means a lot.”

Hey, he's just Mike.

Track and field gives Summit County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 an obvious theme

Of the nine inductees in the SCSHOF Class of 2023, four are representatives of the local track and field community.

Actually, even Vrabel has a track background. Although he's best known for football, he threw shot put and discus at Walsh before moving on to Ohio State.

“It shows that our area has talent, and we've just got to bring that talent out,” Sean Robbins said. “It's great to be a part of that talent in the city of Akron.”

Robbins is an East High School and Ashland University graduate who won five NCAA Division II national titles in the long jump (three indoor and two outdoor) from 1993-96. He was an alternate on the 1996 and 2004 U.S. Olympic teams.

Now Robbins is a sports, fitness, speed and agility trainer who coaches athletes and officials at Springside Athletic Club in Montrose, so he is well aware of the talent in Summit County to this day.

“I'm trying to lead maybe the young people to do things and strive to get their goals,” he said. “And if it's athletics, if it's track, if it's basketball, it's all about just working hard.”

Other 2023 inductees known for track are Mary Varga Stupczy (Walsh Jesuit, University of Akron), Jim Braccio (St. Mary High School, UA; also known for football) and Stan Stammen (former Woodridge cross country, track and wrestling coach).

Barberton's Jessica Jenson Starcher enters Summit County Sports Hall of Fame with former teacher

One of the most interesting connections in the SCSHOF Class of 2023 involves playground equipment in Barberton.

When former Barberton High School and Northern Kentucky University basketball standout Jessica Jenson Starcher was a kid, she attended Santrock Elementary School in Barberton. Her gym teacher there was Braccio.

But even before Jenson was Braccio's student, he spotted her on the school playground. It happened when Jenson tagged along with her mother as she picked up her son, Matt.

“I was just on the monkey bars doing the monkey bars at 3 years old, and [Braccio] looked at my mom,” Jenson said during her speech. “He said, 'Do you know how athletic that is of someone that age?' So he saw that in me at just 3 years old, and then here we are together going into the Summit County Hall of Fame. It's so incredible.”

Beacon Journal receives plugs in Summit County Sports Hall of Fame acceptance speeches

Former Buchtel High School and Ohio University wrestler Andy Daniels set an unofficial banquet record by having 68 guests who filled eight tables, SCSHOF president Jeff Kurtz said.

About 350 people attended this year's banquet, and no other Class of 2023 inductee entertained the crowd quite like Daniels.

In a speech packed with quips and tales, Daniels told a story about moving from Chicago to Akron to wrestle in high school. After Daniels had a standout career at Buchtel, his parents attended a wrestling meet between Northeast Ohio athletes and a team from Russia. They hadn't seen their son compete before, and Daniels had met his match.

“After that Russian turned me every which way but loose, packed my bags and told me to go back to Chicago,” Daniels said, “my father said, 'Boy, I thought you told me you were tough.'

“I sent him all the articles, and he was reading them. I said, 'I never told you I was tough.' I said, 'The Akron Beacon Journal said that.' I said, 'You can't always believe what you read in the paper now.' So I got teased by him and my brother all the way back to Chicago about how I got beat up.”

The Beacon Journal received another mention when inductee Mike Morrow said hearing legendary college basketball coach John Wooden speak at the Beacon Journal-Touchdown Club banquet shaped his career. Morrow became the first head coach of the Kent State University women's golf team in 1997, and he led the program to a Mid-American Conference championship in each of his 14 seasons.

“I was like a little kid on the edge of my seat,” Morrow said of listening to Wooden. “Every word he said resonated, and it's funny that my philosophy in running golf courses and the golf game really was all from his philosophy and his beliefs and his foundations.”

Wooden spoke during the banquet at the University of Akron's Memorial Hall in 1971, the same year Morrow graduated from Stow High School. At the time, Wooden was four years away from retiring as UCLA's coach.

Former NFL official Mark Steinkerchner draws penalty flags

When inductee Mark Steinkerchner approached the stage to speak, supporters of the former longtime NFL line judge waved yellow cloths representing penalty flags.

“I'm a little bit nervous standing up in front of you because you actually applauded when I stood up,” Steinkerchner told those in attendance. “I'm used to boos and heckles.”

Patriots will induct Mike Vrabel, too: Bloody nose, broken back: Akron-born football legend brings his brand of toughness to halls of fame

A Copley High School and University of Akron graduate, Steinkerchner explained his son, Dan, became a Green Bay Packers fan as a kid because the Browns had moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season. After Steinkerchner worked a Packers game, he received a complaint.

“Did you really have to flag Brett [Favre]?” Steinkerchner said his son told him. “It's, like, never-ending.”

Two other honorees delivered acceptance speeches during the ceremony — Glenda Buchanan, who received the Ed Kalail Volunteer Award, and the Rev. Ronald Fowler, who received the Andy Palich Memorial Service Award.

Akron-area athletes honored: Bios for Summit County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023 inductees

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Titans' Mike Vrabel enters Summit County Sports Hall of Fame