FEATURE: Grozenski hoping to seize the moment

By Sandy Gholston

Big Rapids - - The stadium turf at Top Taggart Field is akin to a football laboratory for Eric Grozenski in his quest to be Ferris State University’s top quarterback in the fall.

Grozenski is likely to be the only Bulldog quarterback in camp with Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playing experience as he competed in seven games last fall and completed 8-of-16 passes for 138 yards with an interception. That limited duty last season, however, has only fueled his fire as the top quarterback spot truly is up for grabs with the graduation of C.J. Van Wieren, who was a workhorse of a quarterback – as a runner and as a passer – in 2007.

Ferris State University quarterback Eric Grozenski does some drill work during practice on Tuesday afternoon at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids. (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

This spring, Grozenski plans to keep building toward being the quarterback he aspires to be by the time the team returns to Big Rapids for fall training camp. With a number of practices and a scrimmage, Grozenski likes a lot of what he has seen so far.

“I think spring season is going pretty well. We’re getting a lot of stuff done and a lot of guys are getting a chance to play and there has been a lot of good competition,” said Grozenski who currently is one of three Bulldog quarterbacks joining Tom Schneider and Kyle Foster this spring. Junior college transfer Kyle Parrish, a highly-touted recruit, plans to join the team and the competition in the fall. “For us, as quarterbacks, the competition has been good and everyone is working hard every day to be the best they can be and that competition is only going to make us all better as quarterbacks.”

Knowing the battle for snaps promises to be even more intense in the fall than it is now, Grozenski realizes improvement must be ongoing. Some of the building blocks already are in place. Grozenski already has the reputation for being a solid drop-back pocket passer with a good arm and accuracy. The Rochester Hills native, who competed in high school for Notre Dame Prep, hopes to use the spring and summer to round out his game as a quarterback.

“I think the biggest improvement I need to make in my game is with my ability to run the ball,” said the 6-foot-2, 222-pound passer, who once was a ball boy for the Detroit Pistons during his younger days in suburban Detroit area. “I know that I need to become more of a runner with the system that we run here at Ferris.”

For the Bulldogs, as a team, Grozenski understands this is a critical time. Ferris hopes to climb the ladder in the GLIAC to better compete with the better teams in the league and, thus, the better teams in the nation in Division II. For the veterans like Grozenski, who will be a junior in the fall, this spring is of particular importance.

“Every week and every day is important,” said Grozenski, who redshirted in 2005 and played in just four games during the 2006 campaign. “We know we have a lot of work we have to get done and it’s very refreshing to see so all these guys out here working hard and doing what they need to do to help make us a better team.”