Cornell's Krawczyk won't stop giving lessons

Eric Krawczyk will have a great career in teaching if he schools children the same way as cornerbacks. When Eric Krawczyk says he wants to be a teacher, you can only nod your head, and say, "Why not?" For the last three years, the Cornell senior wide receiver has mastered the art of teaching. Ask any defensive back in the game -- he is bound to have taken him to school at one time or another. In his final year at Cornell, Krawczyk has studied natural resources and education, and has completely rewritten the school's record book at the same time. "Through his career prior to this season, he has been an incredibly consistent performer," Cornell coach Jim Hofher said. "So that kind of consistency, frankly, is unusual, and he has been very fortunate to be healthy." The consistency has been sweet, and the 12 Cornell records that he now holds are even sweeter. This season, Krawczyk has piled up the numbers like no other receiver before. Career receiving yards (2,156), career catches (163), and catches in season (76) are among the 12 of note. This weekend when Krawczyk comes to Franklin Field he will have a chance to add to these records. Stopping Krawczyk and the rest of the Big Red passing game has to be a priority for Penn Saturday. Quarterback Mike Hood and Krawczyk are the focal points of the second-best passing offense in the league (250.1 yards per game). If Saturday plays out like the rest of the season, the Big Red are sure to throw nearly 45 passes into the midst of the secondary. It will be up to the likes of Quakers cornerbacks Joe Piela and Larrin Robertson to keep the ball out the hands of Krawczyk. This task may prove impossible as yet another one of his records is 29 consecutive games with a catch -- every game since he has stepped into the starting lineup. "He has been an unusual football player because he is not necessarily the fastest guy," Hofher said. "But he has been the most productive receiver in Cornell's 110-year history of football." At 6'3" and 205 pounds, Krawczyk has the receiver's build -- the receiving body molded after the Michael Irvins of the world. While he may not have the Dallas Cowboys' game-breaking speed, Krawczyk has made the most of his abilities. "I guess it is good for the quarterbacks, it gives them more to throw to, and it gives me much larger range than most receivers," Krawczyk said. "But I'm just fortunate enough to have had 30 healthy games, well, 29 healthy games so far, and I am hoping for one more." The last week of this fabled career will be away from home, and against a team that he helped put away in the final week of last year's season. At Ithaca, N.Y., Krawczyk played a key role, catching two touchdown passes (39 and 17 yards), in Cornell's 24-21 win. That week against the Quakers capped a season in which he garnered All-Ivy League second team honors. Any tallies he puts on the board this week will be icing on the cake, as the Big Red are not in a title hunt. Regardless of the acclaim that follows his career after the week, it will be a bittersweet ending for Krawczyk. "Unfortunately, there is only a week left," Krawczyk said. "I don't want to think about it just yet, we still have practice, and we still have the game left. Pretty soon I am going to be looking to the past." The same factors that have made Krawczyk the top receiver in Big Red history will help him as he leaves one of his greatest passions of life. "He's a very unselfish person, he gives of himself an awful lot for a variety of different causes," Hofher said. "He is very involved in a number of things outside of simply being a football player or being student. He is making the most out of his life, as well as his college career." Krawczyk has gained nothing but the respect of those around him. As a senior captain for the Big Red, he has been one to lead by example in all facets of life. The records, which are still accumulating, have not become the focus of his playing, or his life. "Football has meant a lot to me, and his has definitely been very rewarding," Krawczyk said. "Along with football, I have been able to be involved in a lot of different things on this campus?. I am grateful for the people I have met on the field and off the field." It is no wonder Hofher calls Krawczyk an unusual football player. He has focus and care off the football field, unparalleled by most athletes that have been able to demolish all records at a Division I school. Hofher feels more should learn from Krawczyk's example as a person, which includes participation in various outdoor recreation and education programs in the community. He has certainly taught the defensive backs lessons, and his coach feels he has even learned from him. The memories of Krawczyk in Ithaca will be of more than a great player, but of a down-to-earth person. Other Ancient Eight teams will remember being burned by a record-breaker. He, on the other hand, will remember the opportunities football brought him and teach others the same.