ODU's Cris Reisert - NAIA Preview
Monday, August 11th 2008 @ 1:14 PM
Dale Carlson saw something in Cris Reisert that many other college coaches failed to see. In fact, he wanted to have Reisert take a look at some of the mechanics of some of the best examples of what Coach Carlson wanted Cris to become as an NAIA quarterback. After all, the Panthers had just gone through their first season as a varsity program and rattled off a 0-10 finish – any improvements that could come from learning from film would be welcomed.
Reisert never knew he could become one of the greatest NAIA quarterbacks of all-time when he stepped on the campus of Ohio Dominican in August of 2005 – he just wanted to win and play football. So when it came time to watch film of the best examples of what a college quarterback should be it may have been a bit of a shock which tape Carlson popped in the VCR for Reisert to watch.
“I told them this is the type of quarterback we need, said Carlson. “A guy like this who is a winner.”
However, it was not a USC tape of Carson Palmer, or a Tennessee tape of Payton Manning. Instead the label read “2005 NAIA National Championship” and the player Carlson told Reisert to keep an eye on was #16 for Carroll College.
“I was new to the NAIA so I had never heard of Tyler Emmert,” laughed Reisert. “But as I watched him I was amazed by his mechanics and decision making. If it was a three step drop, it was three steps and the ball was gone. If his first look wasn’t there, he’d check down.”
It was like Carlson had written the first chapter of the storybook career of Reisert.
“I learned a lot from those tapes.”
Carlson and ODU recruiting and offensive coordinator Chris Oliver saw many of those qualities at Archbishop Moeller High School probably before Cris even new they existed.
“He was checking at the line of scrimmage and making great decisions, and in our offense we needed a quarterback like that,” said Carlson.
As Oliver and Carlson sought the services of Reisert to play for the Panthers, they were amazed not so much by what was happening in the recruiting process but more by what was not happening.
“Hardly anyone was recruiting him. He was the MVP of the Cincinnati Catholic League and it was like schools were avoiding him because of his size,” laughed Carlson. “One quarterback from the league went to Ohio State and two others went to IAA’s. For Cris, it was ODU and a few DIII schools.”
Now Reisert is poised to break every record that bears the name of Tyler Emmert or any other quarterback in the NAIA with a passing or total offense record. Coming into the 2008 season Reisert has 10,348 yards passing and 10,727 yards of total offense. The total offense record for regular season games is currently 12,767 yards which means Reisert only needs 2,456 yards to break the record. (416 total yards of Reisert’s statistics came in the post season)
But like every great quarterback Cris Reisert would rather win championships than break passing records.
“Those records would be great to break because I feel it just shows what a great team accomplishment that would be,” said Reisert. “Breaking those records would be great for our program and school.”
Last year was a remarkable year for Ohio Dominican, considering it was just their fourth season of competition as they finished a complete regular season turnaround from 0-10 in 2004 to 11-0.
“He’s just so unselfish,” Carlson added. “He’d rather the focus be on what his teammates are doing rather than himself.”
The Panthers and Reisert clawed through the regular season racking up the yards and points as they were second in the country in scoring with 47.8 points per game. In fact the Panthers scored over 50 points four times.
“The regular season was great. We got better every week and were tested by some of the best teams in the country.”
Perhaps the most memorable win for Reisert was an early season victory against perennial NAIA power the University of Saint Francis.
“I remember playing those guys when I was a freshman and I was like ‘wow’ what’s it going to take to get to that level. When we beat them last year it was kinda a feeling like ‘okay now we are where we need to be to potentially win a national title.’”
However the untold story of the week of the Saint Francis game is probably what makes the game even more memorable. In the game prior against McKendree, Reisert left the game with a severe foot injury. One that hobbled him so badly he went to Cincinnati to see the Bengals foot specialist.
“The doctor told him if he could bear the pain he could play because he was not going to do anymore damage to his foot. He said whether he was Cris Reisert or Carson Palmer, he’d be telling him the same thing.
Reisert was determined to play, spending extra time in the film room studying USF since he could not be on the practice field. But as the week went on and the pain continued the Panther coaching staff was faced with a decision based upon one of their team rules. The rule was ‘if you do not practice on Wednesday, you do not play on Saturday.’ Reisert had not practiced on Wednesday and Carlson and his staff worried about the message it would sent to the team if Reisert played on Saturday despite not practicing all week.
So Thursday came and the ODU staff left the coaches office’s and headed to practice. The team was on the field warming up when Cris Reisert emerged from the locker room, in full pads ready to practice.
“The entire team erupted in cheers, even our backup quarterback Billy Griffin was clapping. One of my assistants turned to me and said ‘well, there’s your answer’. I guess it just shows the type of respect this team has for Cris.”
Reisert led his team to a 30-20 victory over the No. 2 team in the country. He threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
“We knew we couldn’t rest after that win because things were only going to get tougher. We had to keep practicing hard and keep studying our opponents.”
Those words have been the mantra of Reisert for the better part of his career on football. Practice hard, study hard. Many have looked at Reisert and have wondered how he does what it is he is able to do.
“I pride myself on trying to be a student of the game. Studying film and applying that in practice during game week. I feel like that’s the biggest difference in a football game. Knowing what your opponent is going to do before they know what they are going to do.”
Still some coaches in the NAIA still have to shake their heads because Reisert does not look the part of the prototypical college quarterback at 6’2 and 205 lbs.
“When you see him you’d think he’s more of a slow pitch softball player than one of the best college quarterbacks in the NAIA,” said one NAIA coach. “The steps on the field and tears your defense apart.”
“Hey I like playing slow pitch but they told me no unnecessary extracurricular activities this summer,” Reisert laughed. “So I’m just helping my brother ‘manage’ his team.”
Helping his family out is just something Reisert is used to doing as they have done the same in return with him during his career. Cris’s older brother Brian has shared the college football experience with him throughout his career as Brian also played some quarterback in college at the University of Dayton and Mount Union.
“It’s kinda nice because he is there to give me tips or help me in the off season with workouts. He and my other brother run routes for me to help me with my workouts.”
The entire Reisert family has known what success feels like in their lives. Reisert’s dad is the vice president of a woodworking company in Cincinnati while his mom spent time as a women’s professional golfer.
But Reisert’s family extends past bloodlines to his fellow teammates.
“We are a close knit group. We’re always there for one another trying to be positive and trying to encourage one another. I think that’s one thing we can be proud of is always trying to be positive with one another rather than putting each other down.”
It was that type of cohesion that has kept this team together through the ups and downs of their fresh start to college football. It is even the sort of thing that has built an even stronger bond after their loss to Missouri Valley in the NAIA Championship Series last fall.
“I won’t make any excuses about that game,” said Reisert. “We played well, but not well enough to win. On that day Missouri Valley was the better team and they deserved to win but that’s not to say we could become the better team and we could win that game someday.”
That is the sort of attitude that has carried the Panthers and Reisert into the 2008 season. It is an attitude that has the put the Panthers number one goal at winning a national title.
“Anything short of that will be a disappointment. You can throw all the passing records aside because what we really want is a national title.”
That is also the sort of attitude that Carlson and another other coach in the country likes to hear from their senior leaders and captains.
“That’s what separates the ‘greats’. Guys like Farve, Montana and even Emmert. They are smart, make great decisions, they’re humble and they are willing to do everything to put the team first.”
This year Reisert and the Panthers hope they get the opportunity to do everything it takes to give their program their first national title.
Article By: Jason Dannelly, Victory Sports Network
Photo By: Victory Sports Network
Reisert Featured on the Cover of VictorySports.net NAIA Preview Magazine
Monday, August 4th 2008 @ 8:53 AM
COLUMBUS , Ohio – Ohio Dominican University 's quarterback Cris Reisert has been featured in the 2008 issue of VictorySports.net NAIA Preview Magazine with a photo on the cover as well as a in-depth story. Victory Sports is a national publication dedicated to National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic (NAIA) sports.
"Cris is the best player in the NAIA this year," says Jason Dannelly Editor and Chief Columnist Victory Sports. "We feel like he has a great opportunity this year to help lead his team to a national title."
Last season Reisert ( Cincinnati , OH) and the Ohio Dominican Panthers shocked the football world with their highly explosive offense. ODU completed an undefeated regular season (11-0) and won the MSFA - Mideast League title, the first time in the schools short football history. ODU made their first appearance in the NAIA Football Championship Series, defeating the University of the Cumberlands, 62-35, on November 17th before succumbing to Missouri Valley College , 48-34, on November 24th.
The Panthers' offense was ranked first at the end of last season, averaging 50 points per game, a total that topped not only the NAIA but all of college football. ODU's average of 557.5 yards of offense per game also was first in the NAIA and was just behind NCAA I Tulsa's 561.9 yards per game average in all of college football.
The Panthers' record setting season was fueled by the 6-foot-2 junior quarterback from Archbishop Moeller High School . Reisert threw for 5,434 passing yards, a total that earned him the third spot on the list of all-time single season passing yardage across all divisions of college football.
Reisert broke the NAIA record for passing yards in a season of 4,885 yards, formerly held by Craig Fobbe of Morningside College . He also established a new NAIA record with 5,464 yards of total offense, breaking the old record of 4,944 yards. His 54 touchdown passes ranks first among all of college football and set a new conference record.
Reisert tops the listing of NAIA quarterbacks by Jason Dannelly of Victory Sports as the #1 rated signal caller in the "Super Six".
"Reisert understands the big picture and is looking towards his future possibly in coaching," adds Dannelly. "So he is learning everyday about what it takes to become successful on the field. Cris is just a class act from top to bottom."
Article By: Jeff Blair, Ohio Dominican Sports Information Director
