The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Bay’s Mici to play at Lake Erie
Klevin Mici has decided football over wrestling at the next level.
The Bay football product is continuing his academic and athletic careers at Lake Erie College this fall.
“I was really excited,” said Mici. “It’s a big deal picking where you want to go to college. I finally made my decision and I was happy with it.”
Mici also wrestled at Bay and had to make a difficult decision. Either play football at Lake Erie, or wrestle at Baldwin Wallace.
The decision wasn’t an easy one for Mici, however, he is happy with the choice he made.
“That was really tough,” Mici said. “I had no idea what I wanted to do but in the end, I just kind of chose one and I stuck with it.”
During his recruiting process, Mici heard some encouraging words from Lake Erie College head coach Reilly Murphy.
“Coach told me I could get playing time my freshman year and I would love that,” Mici said. “Honestly, I just want to play a college sport.”
The 6-foot-2, 260 pound senior played on the offensive line for Bay and will do so at the next level.
Mici had a solid senior season for the Rockets after missing half of his junior season due to injury. He helped Bay to a 7-3 regular-season record and a playoff berth in 2019.
The lineman earned several accolades for his play during his senior season. Mici was named to the AllGreat Lakes Conference first team, the All-Northeast Lakes District second team and was named the Bay football Lineman of the Year.
Mici was happy to be able to play a full season and help contribute to his team’s success.
“Getting those awards made me feel a sense of, ‘I made it’ and (I was) proud of myself,’” Mici said.
Rockets head coach Ron Rutt had nothing but good things to say about his former offensive lineman.
“He was a huge part of what we did, especially offensively,” Rutt said. “He is such a technician. His skill set and his ability to take coaching was just phenomenal. He could have played any number of spots on the offensive line for us. He plays with great technique and he’s got a great attitude. What’s special about him is his competitiveness.”
Rutt lauded Mici for his work ethic and the example he set for his teammates.
“He was vocal at times when he sensed he needed to be,” Rutt said. “However, just the way that he went about his business every single day ... the kids saw that ‘this is what it takes to be an outstanding player.’ One of the lines that coaches like to say a lot is ‘when your best player is your best worker,’ it means a lot for your team. That was definitely Klevin.”
Mici enjoyed being a team leader at Bay and was happy to help out his fellow teammates whenever he could.
“I was one of a couple of seniors on the line and I had two sophomores that were next to me at the beginning of the year,” Mici said. “I wasn’t much of a vocal leader but it was good during drills to show (my teammates) what is right and what you shouldn’t do. (I led) by action.”
The senior will be missed by Rutt and the Rockets’ football team come game time this fall.
“He was obviously a great player with great size and he was a big piece of our team,” Rutt said. “In that sense, it will be easy to see what we will be missing. However, that competitiveness that he brings was something special about him. He’s the kind of guy that you want to go to war with. That will definitely be missed.”