Remember Artie Steinmetz from CovCath.

[uk#1fan]

I just saw this article in the Lexington Herald about Artie he was great guy and a friend. First time I met him he was a Freshman in highschool and he was built like Brock Lesnar.
 

Latest mistake in judgment sparks memory of DUI crash that took Artie Steinmetz | Kentucky.com

I remember Artie Steinmetz.

I was covering UK football and Steinmetz had been a star lineman at Covington Catholic High School who had turned down the home-state school to sign with Nick Saban at Michigan State. After his freshman year in East Lansing, however, Steinmetz returned to Kentucky, enrolled at UK and was sitting out the 1998 football season as a transfer.

On the early morning of Sunday, Nov. 15, however, after a night of drinking to celebrate a big Saturday win over Vanderbilt, Steinmetz elected to go deer hunting with teammate and starting center Jason Watts, and EKU student Scott Brock, who was the best friend of UK quarterback Tim Couch.

It became a tragic trip.

As the inebriated trio traveled down U.S. 27 to Somerset, with Watts behind the wheel, the black pickup clipped a mailbox, blew out a back tire and flipped. All three passengers were thrown from the vehicle.

The 19-year-old Steinmetz and the 21-year-old Brock died at the scene.

Watts pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless homicide and served four months of a 10-year sentence before being released on shock probation.

Watts' blood-alcohol level at the crash scene: 0.150.

Matt Roark's blood-alcohol level when charged with a DUI on Sunday: 0.192.

His penalty: A one-game suspension.

The junior wide receiver from Acworth, Ga., was arrested Sunday at 4:50 a.m. when his car hit a parked car at the corner of Montavesta and Wood Valley Court in the Lansdowne Area. The police report said Roark exhibited "slurred speech" and was "swaying with a staggered walk." It also said that "heavy damage" was done to both cars. So, to be sure, Roark was extremely fortunate there was no one in the other car. This isn't to pile on Roark, or bring more guilt to Watts. This isn't to criticize the disciplinary measures of UK football coach Joker Phillips, who said after Wednesday's practice he did not have a set-in-stone policy for alcohol offenders.

"It'll be case-by-case," Phillips said when asked.

In Roark's case, there will be counseling, the one-game suspension for this Saturday's trip to Mississippi State, plus additional disciplinary measures that Phillips said he would keep "in-house."

And for those who see a one-game suspension for a DUI charge as being soft?

"That's not all he's getting," Phillips said. "It's a one-game suspension, but there are other things we will do with Matt."

There was a time, however, when UK's discipline involved much more.

After the death of Steinmetz and Brock in 1998, then-UK athletics director C.M. Newton announced a new department policy in which athletes were dismissed from the team and lost their scholarship for one year upon an alcohol or drug conviction.

In 2000, when UK basketball player Desmond Allison was caught running a red light, with an open bottle of Hennessy cognac at his side, the Florida native ended up leaving school.

When teammate Jules Camara was charged with a DUI shortly after, the policy was amended to allow Camara to stay on scholarship, but he had to sit out a season.

(Camara was charged with another DUI on Monday.)

But then Newton retired, and without any real announcement, policy has changed to where the coach now determines discipline.

In football's case, the program has avoided many of the off-the-field problems that have dogged other schools. This isn't Florida, where Urban Meyer has had about 30 players experience run-ins with the law over the past five years. This isn't Georgia, where 11 football players have been charged or arrested since the end of last season.

And yet, young people still attend school at UK. Young people make mistakes. Some of those participate in athletics. No school is immune. In that regard, maybe Newton's old policy, however laudable, was unrealistic in the ultra-competitive world of big business, er, collegiate athletics. And with the Roark DUI charge being the first time Phillips has encountered this situation, the first-year head coach deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Still, there should be one thing to remember.

Don't forget Artie Steinmetz.

[mexitucky]

uk#1fan said:

I just saw this article in the Lexington Herald about Artie he was great guy and a friend. First time I met him he was a Freshman in highschool and he was built like Brock Lesnar.
 

Latest mistake in judgment sparks memory of DUI crash that took Artie Steinmetz | Kentucky.com

I remember Artie Steinmetz.

I was covering UK football and Steinmetz had been a star lineman at Covington Catholic High School who had turned down the home-state school to sign with Nick Saban at Michigan State. After his freshman year in East Lansing, however, Steinmetz returned to Kentucky, enrolled at UK and was sitting out the 1998 football season as a transfer.

On the early morning of Sunday, Nov. 15, however, after a night of drinking to celebrate a big Saturday win over Vanderbilt, Steinmetz elected to go deer hunting with teammate and starting center Jason Watts, and EKU student Scott Brock, who was the best friend of UK quarterback Tim Couch.

It became a tragic trip.

As the inebriated trio traveled down U.S. 27 to Somerset, with Watts behind the wheel, the black pickup clipped a mailbox, blew out a back tire and flipped. All three passengers were thrown from the vehicle.

The 19-year-old Steinmetz and the 21-year-old Brock died at the scene.

Watts pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless homicide and served four months of a 10-year sentence before being released on shock probation.

Watts' blood-alcohol level at the crash scene: 0.150.

Matt Roark's blood-alcohol level when charged with a DUI on Sunday: 0.192.

His penalty: A one-game suspension.

The junior wide receiver from Acworth, Ga., was arrested Sunday at 4:50 a.m. when his car hit a parked car at the corner of Montavesta and Wood Valley Court in the Lansdowne Area. The police report said Roark exhibited "slurred speech" and was "swaying with a staggered walk." It also said that "heavy damage" was done to both cars. So, to be sure, Roark was extremely fortunate there was no one in the other car. This isn't to pile on Roark, or bring more guilt to Watts. This isn't to criticize the disciplinary measures of UK football coach Joker Phillips, who said after Wednesday's practice he did not have a set-in-stone policy for alcohol offenders.

"It'll be case-by-case," Phillips said when asked.

In Roark's case, there will be counseling, the one-game suspension for this Saturday's trip to Mississippi State, plus additional disciplinary measures that Phillips said he would keep "in-house."

And for those who see a one-game suspension for a DUI charge as being soft?

"That's not all he's getting," Phillips said. "It's a one-game suspension, but there are other things we will do with Matt."

There was a time, however, when UK's discipline involved much more.

After the death of Steinmetz and Brock in 1998, then-UK athletics director C.M. Newton announced a new department policy in which athletes were dismissed from the team and lost their scholarship for one year upon an alcohol or drug conviction.

In 2000, when UK basketball player Desmond Allison was caught running a red light, with an open bottle of Hennessy cognac at his side, the Florida native ended up leaving school.

When teammate Jules Camara was charged with a DUI shortly after, the policy was amended to allow Camara to stay on scholarship, but he had to sit out a season.

(Camara was charged with another DUI on Monday.)

But then Newton retired, and without any real announcement, policy has changed to where the coach now determines discipline.

In football's case, the program has avoided many of the off-the-field problems that have dogged other schools. This isn't Florida, where Urban Meyer has had about 30 players experience run-ins with the law over the past five years. This isn't Georgia, where 11 football players have been charged or arrested since the end of last season.

And yet, young people still attend school at UK. Young people make mistakes. Some of those participate in athletics. No school is immune. In that regard, maybe Newton's old policy, however laudable, was unrealistic in the ultra-competitive world of big business, er, collegiate athletics. And with the Roark DUI charge being the first time Phillips has encountered this situation, the first-year head coach deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Still, there should be one thing to remember.

Don't forget Artie Steinmetz.

 

 

I ran into him at Bilbo's over the summer of '96 a few times. He was a really cool dude. I would not have suspected that he was such a widely recruited player if I didn't know his name and he wasn't enormous. Sad to see.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Artie died 13 years ago today. I wasn't particularly a good friend to Artie, but he was a good friend to every single person he met. I played football a couple of years behind him, and remember watching him in awe on a day-to-day basis...in school, in the waitroom, on the practice field, in the locker room, and on the game field. Many folks called him a gentle giant. I can tell you first hand from a few hits I took from him on the practice field (one in particular that left me literally seeing green for a few minutes) that Big Art was no gentle giant, but he certainly had a gentle personality. After all, after every single game, Artie's first move, before talking to reporters, and before talking to scouts, was to go find his mom in the crowd and give her a hug. Everyone who knew Artie knew what it was to smile and to laugh because of him. He was a great guy, and I can't help but spend some time on this day every year wishing he was still around.

[uk#1fan]

He was a good guy and will be missed.

[FTBIGBIRD]

What a tragic story. This should be a story shared with all incoming freshman at UK.

[2 Humped Camel]

The best player I ever played against hands down. He would have had a long career in the NFL had he not passed so prematurely. I didn't know him personally but he was a fantastic football player.

[JDOMAX]

Artie played with my nephew Jeremy Madden. They would hang out from time to time. Great Dude, Awesome Parents who owned Steinmetz Trucking. They would taligate before games and do it right.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

From Cov Cath Football Alumni on Facebook:

Today we remember Artie Steinmetz (CCH '97), who passed away tragically in an automobile accident 25 years ago this day. In many ways, Artie was bigger than life. As a 6-foot-5, 270 pound defensive tackle, those who didn't know Big Art personally remember him as a dominating force on the football field. Those who knew him on a deeper level remember the joy he brought as he walked into a room, and remember him for his booming laugh.

Artie was a member of Covington Catholic's 1994 AAA state championship football team, was a 4 year football and track & field letterman and an all-state football player. As a junior he was selected 1st team All-Conference and 1st Team Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association. As a team captain his senior year, Steinmetz had 78 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks - despite constantly being double and triple-teamed. That year Artie received numerous awards, including being named to the prestigious Northern Kentucky Top 24, being named 1st Team All-State by both the Associated Press and the Courier-Journal, making the Kentucky All-Star roster for the Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl, and being named to the Herald-Leader's Class Of The Commonwealth, their list of the 22 top high school seniors for year. He was recruited by legendary college football coach Nick Saban to Michigan State University, where he played his freshman year before transferring to the University of Kentucky in order to be closer to home, family, and friends.

Artie's number 94 jersey was retired in November 1998 following his death.

Please take a moment to remember Artie and to pray for the repose of his soul whether or not you were blessed to have met him or to have known him, and as always, remember to hug your family and friends and let them know how much you love them.

Artie Steinmetz is also the namesake of a one-year scholarship, selected by committee, that is awarded annually to one graduating senior who is a football player and has financial need and/or scholastic achievement. If you would like remember Artie through a memorial donation that will directly benefit one of our seniors, please check the following link to learn more: covcath.thankyou4caring.org/memorial-donation

With A Spirit That Will Not Die

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

 

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

 

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

 

[Breds82]

What a great article and unreal under this situation his parents were not above forgiveness, in one of the most (of not the most) painful times of their lives. I remember being a young man when this happened. It was a shock to the NKY football community to say the least.

[colonel-fan]

I remember this well. Tragic. I knew one of Artie's cousins. Good people.

[Jason Bucklen]

He was a man among boys. It was a tragic situation. I wonder what Jason Watts is doing now. 

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

25 minutes ago, Jason Bucklen said:

He was a man among boys. It was a tragic situation. I wonder what Jason Watts is doing now. 

He's a farmer in Florida, near where he grew up. And he's the offensive line coach at Lake Wales High School where his son is currently playing football.