Lesson learned ... and lessons appreciated
GROVE CITY — The lesson was a delayed one, but a lesson nonetheless.
And Butler graduate Rob Kunst plans to use it for the rest of his life as he graduates from Grove City College with a degree in finance.
A tight end for the Wolverine football team, Kunst fashioned a 3.90 grade point average in his college career. He recently received an award for having the highest GPA among all GCC athletes who are seniors this year.
“It's an honor to win this award,” Kunst said. “I'm just thankful I could be part of the program here. There are so many tremendous student athletes at this school because academics are stressed heavily here.”
Kunst stressed academics heavily himself. He never intentionally skipped a single class session in his four years at Grove City.
“I'm pretty proud of that,” he said. “The only time I missed a class was because of travel for a game or an interview for an internship or something like that.
“Each of those times, I got with my professor ahead of time to prepare myself for what I was going to miss. I had a great relationship with them that way.
“It's not just going to class. It's paying attention, participating, getting the most out of being here. This was my college education and I was going to take full advantage of it,” Kuntz added.
That delayed lesson he learned? Ironically, it came through football.
Kuntz's teams at Butler High School only won a handful of games during his time there. When he came to Grove City, the Wolverines finished 0-10 his freshman year.
Mark DiDonato took over as head coach prior to Kuntz's sophomore year.
“I remember how hard we worked during that preseason when Coach DiDonato first got there,” Kuntz said. “He put in a new system and everybody cracked down.
“We were anticipating a big change, then we went 0-10 again. It was hard to understand.”
Eventually, Kuntz and his teammates figured it out.
“The reward doesn't always show up right away,” he said. “You have to keep working toward it. You have to maintain faith in yourself and your teammates.
“We finished 4-6 my junior year. We saw the improvement. We knew we were on the right path.”
The Wolverines finished 8-3 last fall — Kuntz's senior season — and played in the program's first-ever bowl game. Grove City hosted Morrisville State in the ECAC James Lynah Bowl and posted a 56-48 victory.
Kuntz's numbers at Grove City were far from spectacular. He'd catch two or three passes per season for fewer than 50 yards. But he was a tireless worker and team player.
“Selfless is the best way to describe Rob,” DiDonato said. “He would do anything for the team, anything we'd ask of him. He never complained once about how he was being used.”
GCC running back Wesley Schools rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns over the past two years. He had a huge bowl game, largely because of the blocking schemes of Kuntz and others.
“We opened up huge gaps continually for Wes to run through,” Kuntz said. “We kept sealing people off. They were powerless to stop him. I'll never forget that.”
DiDonato will never forget Kuntz.
“He's the model we want our younger guys to look up to and aspire to be,” the coach said. “Rob was special. He loved the game because it was fun.
“The classroom came first with him. That's the way it should be with all of these guys. We have the 4-40 theory here. Football will last you four years. Your degree will last you 40.”
