Wabash College Athletics

Adrian M. Pynenberg, there have been few players in Wabash football history who were one-name, iconic figures — Pete, DJ, and Killer come to mind — but tonight we add to that list “Adi,” for nobody ever called you Adrian and you earned it by your remarkable and consistent play as a four-year starting linebacker for the Little Giants.

Wabash has had no shortage of talent at the linebacker position over the last 30 years as evidenced by the number of Conference MVPs and All-Americans who have played the position. And with due respect to those players, none achieved at the level you did, Adi. Other Wabash men started all four years, but none led the team in tackles four straight years; none earned two-time NCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors; none were Gagliardi Trophy Finalists. Only you did all of those things over the course of 45 games as a Little Giant, and perhaps no player ever “went to work” as quietly and consistently as you.

You led Wabash to two outright North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and a share of a third title with defenses that became nationally regarded for speed, intensity, sure tackling, and game-changing turnovers. We don’t have enough time tonight to adequately honor your statistical accomplishments. We will note, however, that you spent as much time in the opponents’ backfield as some of those offensive players and your record of 74 tackles for loss may never be broken.

You also got better every year — 86 tackles as a freshman, 96 as a sophomore, 101 as a junior, and a Wabash record 168 stops as a senior. In 2006, when you helped Wabash to a share of the league title, you had a memorable interception in a 23-20 win in the Monon Bell Classic. You earned NCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior and were named a Second Team All-American.

A year later, you willed Wabash to one of its most remarkable seasons in history. The Little Giants ran the table in the NCAC, went 11-2 overall, and you recorded 168 tackles, 27 of which were behind the line. You repeated as NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, received First Team All-America honors, and you were a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is presented to the top player in Division III. Adi, you were a joy to watch on the football field. You rarely jawed with an opponent and instead chose to let your hard-hitting play speak for itself. None of us ever remember you missing a tackle, and none of us will ever forget your goal-line blast of a 240-pound DePauw bowling-ball-of-a-runner on fourth down in the Monon Bell Classic. It was, quite simply, one of the finest plays — on a day when you made 19 tackles — any Little Giant fan has ever witnessed.

Therefore, it is an honor for the National Association of Wabash Men to induct you, Adi, in the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame.