Rex Kern

Rex William Kern (born May 28, 1949) is an American former professional football player. He played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) at defensive back for the Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills. In college, Kern was the quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1968 to 1970; the Buckeyes went undefeated in 1968 and were national champions. Kern was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Early life Kern was born on May 28, 1949, in Lancaster, Ohio, Kern was a star three-sport athlete for Lancaster High School and graduated in 1967. His favorite high school sports season was with his 1966 basketball team. In baseball, he was selected in the 16th round of the 1967 baseball draft (306th overall) by the Kansas City Athletics, and was offered basketball scholarships to UCLA, North Carolina, and Ohio University. However Kern had long sought to play basketball for Fred Taylor of Ohio State and had fostered a relationship with Taylor that led to a scholarship offer. but suffered a back injury playing freshman basketball. Despite back surgery in June, Kern recovered in time to be named first-string quarterback for the varsity football team ahead of senior Bill Long, who had quarterbacked the Buckeyes in 1967. The Super Sophomores finished their three-year varsity careers with a record Kern was a fine passer and a dangerous runner. As a quarterback, from 1968–70, he passed for 2,303 yards with a 52.1 completion percentage, 17 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. 583, and 468 yards respectively. He rushed for 24 touchdowns in three years. and went on to an undefeated season, and a berth in the Rose Bowl. Kern was named Most Outstanding Player in the Rose Bowl as No. 1 ranked Ohio State defeated O. J. Simpson and the No. 2 ranked USC Trojans, and were consensus national champions.

In 1969, the Buckeyes were expected to repeat as national champions. Kern directed a high-scoring (averaging 46 points per game) junior-dominated Buckeye offense that cruised through its first eight games. But Kern and the 8–0 Buckeyes were devastated by an upset at Michigan on the last day of the season, a game in which Kern threw four interceptions and was replaced.

Despite the loss, Ohio State finished as Big Ten co-champions with Michigan and Kern was third in balloting for the 1969 Heisman Trophy. He was also named a first-team All-American. Kern was named an All-American as a running back, because there were so many great college quarterbacks that year. Ohio State did not play in a bowl game, because prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 conferences allowed just one bowl team each, to the Rose Bowl.

The super sophomores rebounded as seniors in 1970 to win the Big Ten title outright, gaining revenge against Michigan with a 20–9 victory one year later. The Buckeyes finished the regular season undefeated earning another trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl. However, the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes were upset by the 27–17, led by quarterback Jim Plunkett, the Heisman Trophy winner. Kern, elected team captain in 1970, finished fifth on the 1970 Heisman ballot.

Kern was elected to the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1978,

Kern co-wrote a book, with Lee Caryer, about his early life in Ohio and Ohio State experience, The Road to the Horseshoe and Beyond: How a Small-Town Athlete Benefited from Ohio State to Build a Life. by the defending NFL champion Baltimore Colts. Kern played in all fourteen games in his rookie season, supplanting Jim Duncan as starting cornerback, and starting four games. He only made five starts in 1972 due to a recurrence of his back injury, and recovered to play a full season in 1973, starting eight games with two interceptions.

Kern was the Colts' National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) representative during the union's strike prior to the season. After the strike ended, he was waived when Baltimore general manager Joe Thomas acted on his threat to cut players who had walked out.

Personal life Kern earned three degrees from Ohio State, a Baccalaureate, a Master's, and a Ph.D. in health, physical education and recreation. Kern received the National Football Foundation’s Scholar-Athlete Award, was an All-Big 10 Academic Team honoree in 1970, and received an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship in 1971. He credited his success to his education, and his education to Woody Hayes, with whom he had a lifelong friendship. In 2001, he created the Anne and Woody Hayes Endowment for the prevention of child abuse to Columbus Children's Hospital.

He was president of a business selling Nautilus equipment for over 40 years.