CINCINNATI Joshua Cribbs is determined to pay tribute to his favorite teacher at Kent State University on the fields of the National Football League.
He doesnt care how the NFL punishes him.
The Cleveland Browns wide receiver and KSU alumnus will wear an elbow sleeve on his left arm with the words K. Wolf printed on it for the rest of the season. The K. Wolf stands for Kathleen Wolf, a math teacher at KSU who died Feb. 9 after a sudden and brief illness at the age of 59.
Cribbs displayed the tribute for the first time during the Browns 34-17 loss at Cincinnati Sunday afternoon, despite being warned by the teams equipment staff that the NFL would fine him.
They can go ahead and fine me, I dont care, said Cribbs. Mrs. Wolf meant a lot to me, and I want to pay tribute to her and let her family and friends know that I care and that Im thinking of her.
Cribbs paid a similar tribute last year to former KSU assistant head football coach Mike Drake, who died after a long battle with cancer.
The NFL has rules that prohibit players from wearing anything that diverts from the standard team uniform, including personal messages written on any equipment or jersey.
I dont know how much they are going to fine me, said Cribbs. It doesnt matter. Im going to do what I need to do to remember her. She did so much for me to show how much she cared about me, from staying after class to help me, to cutting articles out for me.
I remember back when I worked at Kent States phone center and we had to call around and ask for donations to the school. We would get a little commission from every donation we got, and when I called her, she donated just because she knew it would help me out. She would do those kinds of little things that always meant a lot. There are a lot of good teachers out there at Kent State, but there are not many who will look out for you the way she always did.
EDELMAN HONORED In just his third Division I start, KSU sophomore quarterback Julian Edelman was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week for his 244-yard passing, 61-yard running, two-touchdown performance in Saturdays 16-14 win at Miami University.
After completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes in his first two starts since transferring to Kent from the College of San Mateo in California, Edelman showed an improved grasp of the Golden Flashes passing game in completing 14-of-22 passes.
He also managed to avoid locking in on star wide receiver Najah Pruden, who had caught more than half of KSUs passes in losses to Minnesota and Army to start the year. Against Miami, Edelman completed at least one pass to nine different receivers.
Edelman is KSUs first offensive player of the week in the conference since Cribbs received the honor in the 2004 season finale at Central Florida.
HOGAN, HERO True freshman defensive end Kevin Hogan was more than impressive in his Division I debut after moving up from the scout team and being told earlier in the year by KSU coach Doug Martin that he would be redshirted this season.
Hogan, a former high school wrestler at Chardon who at 210 pounds would normally be considered a bit undersized to play defensive line, recorded nine tackles with five solos. He also dropped Miami quarterback Mike Kokal for 2 1/2 sacks.
MOVING ON UP Pruden moved up to 10th place on Kent States all-time reception list when he hauled in a 55-yard pass in the second quarter Saturday at Miami. The catch was his 88th in a Flashes uniform. He grabbed his 89th reception later in the game.
Pruden finished the day with five catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Daniel Muir also moved up the KSU career list with 1 1/2 sacks against Miami. That gives him 27 1/2 tackles for losses, elevating him to 10th on the schools all-time list.
PRISM HANDLES KSU-MIAMI TV The Kent State-Miami game at Yeager Stadium was produced for Fox Sports Ohio by Kent resident Bob Kemps Prism Productions. Saturday marked the first state-wide telecast by Prism, which is known in northeast Ohio for its production of Kent State and University of Akron football and mens and womens basketball games on Time Warner during the last two seasons.
MARKWART GETS POW Kent State senior goalkeeper Linz Markwart was named the MAC field hockey Defensive Player of the Week for her 19-save week that included a win over Michigan State.
The Flashes beat the Spartans 3-2 on Sunday with Markwart making 12 saves and holding MSU without a goal in the games final 42 minutes.
Markwart, who earned her 21st career wins in goal against Michigan State, now ranks eighth in the nation with 9.38 saves per game.
Kent State opens MAC play at home this week with a 3 p.m. Friday game against preseason favorite Miami. The Flashes also host Ball State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.