Without a doubt my favorite Bengal of all-time is Steve Tovar. I am the proud owner of an authentic #58 Tovar jersey that I still wear every Sunday (I just never felt comfortable in the #11 Akili Smith jersey). Tovar was an inside linebacker in Larry Peccatiello’s 3-4 defense and was the best thing the mid 1990’s Bengals defenses had going for it (I’m sure some of you out there are shocked I didn’t think the tag team combo of John Copeland and Big Daddy was the best thing those defenses had going for it).
Tovar was known for his ferocious hits and years later one hit from Tovar’s playing days still stands out. At Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Tovar pursued Steve Young. They met outside of the pocket, man-to-man. “It’s hard to imagine, but in that split-second, all your fundamentals kick in,” Tovar said. “I remember my coaching telling me, ‘See what you hit, run through it, and keep your eyes open.’ “He was faking, and I hit him right on his chin. As I was looking at him, I could see his eyes roll back. I heard the crowd go ‘Oooh!’ When they carted him off, I thought, ‘Man, that must’ve been a pretty good hit.’” It was plays like this that endeared Tovar to the Bengals faithful or more specifically me since this game wasn’t at Riverfront and therefore wasn’t blacked out.
The Bengals took Tovar in the third round of the 1993 draft. Tovar had been a star at The Ohio State University. Tovar was another in the long great Ohio State linebackers. He was a two-time All-America selection in 1991 and 1992. Tovar led Ohio State in tackles for three-consecutive seasons between 1990-92, becoming the second Buckeye to accomplish this feat (A.J. Hawk is the only one since Tovar to do it). In his senior year, Tovar was elected team co-captain (with Kirk Herbstreit) and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after recording 128 tackles. At the end of his career Tovar was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and was later named to the Buckeyes All-Century team. Needless to say Mike Brown and the Bengals were very lucky to get a player of Tovar’s pedigree and caliber in the third round.
From the moment Tovar became a Bengal he was a team leader. He was an All-Rookie performer and in his five seasons with the Bengals Tovar led the team in tackles three times. Unfortunately he suffered some bad knee injuries and the Bengals cut him to make room for Spikes and Simmons. Tovar went on to play three more years in the NFL before he got into coaching.
Currently Tovar is the linebackers coach for Kansas University. He has authored a book on how to stop the run and he may or may not have saved a life. Yes, Steve Tovar is that awesome of a person and a Bengals Hero.
I heard he singlehandedly fed and clothed a whole neighborhood of inner city columbus families his senior year at OSU while also teaching a spanish class where the fluency rate of the kids was 100%. They all went on to have successful lives in varying professions thanks to Steve Tovar and his three-sizes-too-big heart.
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