IT IS MID-MARCH when a firm knock pounds Tom Phillips’ door. The Pickerington North football coach, working at the laptop in his office, knows who beckons. This is a routine part of spring break for Pat Elflein. “He comes out, even when he’s been at Ohio State, if he’s on spring break he comes out here and lifts. He’ll go out there and go (hit) the pads,” Phillips says. “Sometimes, I don’t know if he understands the rest piece (of football).” Elflein, the fifth-year senior and soon-to-be three-year starter on Ohio State’s offensive line isn’t one to allow that word to creep into his brain. Rest has never really be an option for him or anyone in his family. “He is a warrior,” Phillips said. “That’s one thing about Pat when he was here. He understands that grind because he was brought up that way. It comes from how he was brought up. Pat wasn’t the kid that would drive to school. He’s getting dropped off by mom and dad. He didn’t have the luxury stuff.” Born to Lisa and Ken, Pat is the youngest of four, all of whom began life in what the family calls “The Crete Factory” on Thurman Avenue or “at the south end” of Columbus as his mother calls it. The name comes from Ken’s concrete expertise. Pickerington locals know to call him if they have a project that requires the combination of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement and water. Pat is determined to find success like his two brothers and sister, which he has done at Ohio State. The most athletic of the Elflein clan, Pat…
Continue Reading: The Finisher: Ohio State Center Pat Elflein Embodies Family Mindset with Intensity on Field
