Stepsis Brings Total Package to Eagles
September 9, 2002

Michael Palmer and Robin Cook have made a nice living as authors of medical thrillers. The doctors turned authors write page turners that often revolve around the newest innovations in medical science.

At this point, that would include genetic engineering. It might not be too long before the two take a look at Ashland University senior free safety Toby Stepsis. Those two would probably love to put Stepsis under the microscope and take a look at that DNA ladder and see if the genes have a little bit of an oblong look.

Of course being under the microscope would be nothing new for Stepsis. He’s a local product, from Shelby, which means he came to AU with the entire local area paying close attention to whether he could play Division II football. Then there’s his lineage – his father has coached football for over 30 years, the past 11 as an AU assistant. His brother, Todd, played football at AU and was an outstanding scholar-athlete.

All of that magnified interest in Stepsis. That didn’t seem to bother the AU defensive back at all. He treats scrutiny the same as run support – he thrives on it. The closer people looked, the more they saw that the 6-0, 215-pound Stepsis was a solid all-around player.

“I didn’t really feel any pressure,” said Stepsis about choosing Ashland and playing close to home. “I saw it as an opportunity to continue playing something that I love.

“It (being local) may be a little more important to you because you want to represent your area well,” explained Stepsis. “You want to make your hometown proud. They get to see you more than someone from say, Florida. I want them to be proud of where I’m from.”

That hasn’t been a problem. Last season, Stepsis was a second team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection and the third-leading tackler on a team that finished 6-5. He’s been named to the GLIAC all-academic team each of the last two years and will be back on the squad again this year. Just last week he was nominated by the AU football coaching staff as a candidate for a National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame postgraduate scholarship. Stepsis is a physical education major with a 3.698 grade point average. In 2001-2002, he was recognized as the Ashland University honors award recipient for the department of Sports Sciences.

On the field, in the classroom, as a spokesman for the AU football program, Stepsis is the perfect example. He came to AU as a good player with a great work ethic and that’s allowed him to achieve success in just about every endeavor.

“First of all he’s a smart young man,” said AU head coach Gary Keller. “That helps him put together a lot of information a lot faster. I think he sees things on the field much quicker. He’s our quarterback on defense.”

When he came to the Eagles, he was a quarterback on offense as well. At Shelby High School, Stepsis was a quarterback-defensive back who completed his career as the Whippets’ career leader in passing yards (2,700). As a senior in 1998, Stepsis led Shelby to a league championship and the Whippets’ first-ever trip to the state playoffs. He was a first team all-conference choice as a quarterback and defensive back and first team All-Ohio as a defensive back.

“I was an option quarterback,” reported Stepsis. “At first it was difficult not having the ball in your hands. Defense is a different mentality and I prefer the defensive mentality to offense. On defense you’re in an attack mode. I do miss running the option, but I couldn’t throw the ball. I was a running back taking snaps.”

Stepsis could play defense against those who threw the ball. He played in four games as a true freshman in 1999. As a sophomore he was inserted into the starting lineup and he hasn’t left since. His first season as a starter he was third on the team in tackles (58). Last year, he had 63 tackles (39 solo) and three interceptions.

“We thought he could play right away,” said Keller. “There were some real positives with Toby – his family, what he did in the classroom on the high school level. I thought he had leadership written all over him.”

Even in his first two seasons with the Eagles, Stepsis wasn’t bashful about assuming a leadership role. Stepsis isn’t a fire-and-brimstone speaker. To this day he measures his words carefully. In reality, AU fans weren’t the only ones watching Stepsis those first few years to see if he could play. Veteran Eagles were paying close attention as well. What they saw made an immediate impression.

“Toby has really worked hard,” said Keller. “He’s had to work on his speed and quickness. That’s why our players respect him, the work ethic he brings to the table. They see that and they say, “That’s not a fake kind of thing.”

Running backs who got crunched by Stepsis knew there was nothing fake about him either. Stepsis has established himself as one of the hardest hitting defensive backs in the GLIAC. He enters this week’s game with Northwood second on the team in tackles (15 tackles, nine solo). He’s forced one fumble and a week ago at Edinboro, stood several ‘Boro running backs up like a mannequin.

“As a safety, I think I’m one of the stronger ones in the conference,” said Stepsis, speaking of what time in the weightroom has given him. “I think that comes down to work ethic. But thank God he’s protected me. There’s a lot of luck involved.”

Being that he’s a high-collision player, it’s surprising that Stepsis hasn’t suffered a higher rate of injuries. He has a knee that can be balky and he pays close attention to that and a year ago, suffered a compound fracture of a finger. Those miseries haven’t benched him – he hasn’t missed a game over the last two years.

That’s another reason why Stepsis is considered an elder statesman on this year’s team. He watched the AU program as a fan with his brother playing and his father coaching. Over the last three years, no one’s been on the field more than Stepsis. It’s given him a perspective very few players on this year’s young team have.

“I think some of the younger guys need to hear things as well as see things,” explained Stepsis. “I don’t like to talk a lot, but hopefully when I do say something guys will respect that and listen.”

As a senior, Stepsis realizes how difficult it is to have success on the Division II level. He’s played on teams that finished 7-3, 6-5 and 6-5. This week, Stepsis and the rest of the Eagles will be trying to get their first win of the year after sustaining losses to Michigan Tech and Edinboro.

“We all talk about it and the coaches remind us, every game comes down to two or three plays,” said Stepsis. “That’s the way it’s been since my sophomore year. My sophomore year we probably won a couple of games we shouldn’t have won. Last year, we probably lost two or three games we shouldn’t have lost. We just have to be consistent.”

Ashland has consistently been among the top teams in the GLIAC. That’s not easy to accomplish. Last year, for example, GLIAC entrant Grand Valley State advanced to the NCAA Division II championship game. This week’s opponent, Northwood, has also tasted postseason success recently, going to the playoffs in 2000. Stepsis hasn’t had that experience, but believes that Ashland, a small private institution in a league filled with larger public schools, can compete.

“We can play with anyone in the conference, anyone in the country,” said Stepsis, his voice growing as hard as one of his patented open-field tackles. “We have the same type of players and we work as hard or harder than anyone. I never feel like we’re an underdog.”