Davis Wulf, senior at Clinton-Massie was the 49th winner of the Clinton County Vince Lombardi Down Lineman of the Year Award during a banquet held Monday at the Expo Center on the county fairgrounds.
Clinton-Massie has dominated the award since 2007 when Greg Miller won the award. Since then, Massie has won 10 of 13 awards.
“It means the world,” said Wulf, the right tackle on the CM offensive line. “To know that there are people that think of the offensive line and to best in the county it means a lot to me.”
Bill Liermann presided over the event as Lombardi chairman. Greg Oliver, former football coach at Wilmington College, was the keynote speaker.
Oliver talked about aspects of a successful life, whether it be on the football field or off. He said having a balanced life was one of the keys. Being balanced physically, emotionally and spiritually was important. Having a moral compass, forgiving other people, living a life of prayer and giving to God and others also were integral to a successful individual.
Other nominees for the award were Wulf’s Clinton-Massie teammate Brody Muterspaw, Blanchester’s James Peters and Christian Stubbs, East Clinton’s Mason Huff and Garrett Elzey and Wilmington’s Brock Rappach and Chris Custis.
Wulf has chosen to be a preferred walk-on at the University of Cincinnati. Making a Division I football program’s roster is important to Wulf, but not the lone reason he chose to live in Clifton the next four years.
“If I wasn’t playing football, if football was taken away from me, it’s a school I would have wanted to go to anyway,” he said. “They have my major, business, which most schools do. It felt like home. It’s no too far but it’s close enough I can come back and visit.”
Wulf said during the recruiting process he was told he could not play at the Division I level.
“A lot of coaches I’ve talked to, some at the Division I level, said I was too short, I wasn’t big enough and I needed to spend more time in the weight room. It motivates me.”
Wulf was a second team Division IV All-Ohio offensive lineman. He said he had an offer from Toledo and would have considered Ball State but never received an offer. Wulf said he had scholarship offers from Division II schools.
But he wanted to give a Division I program a try.
“I know I’m undersized at Cincinnati,” he said. “Their right tackle if 6-9, 330.”
Wulf is listed at 6-3, 265.
“Any level of (college) football you can compete at is not a failure,” said Wulf. “I felt I was good enough to play at the Division I level.”
