Before classes began, a trio of coaches new to Jumbo football convened on the gridiron for the first time, bringing with them a wealth of understanding to coach Bill Samko's football program.
Pete Carmichael, Rob Velasquez and Jay Civetti, the focus of the major staffing change within the football program, come to Tufts looking to guide the team to its first string of back-to-back winning seasons in nearly 20 years. And while all three appear to boast the qualifications needed to help Tufts attain that milestone, their specific backgrounds could not be more different.
Carmichael arrives on the Hill after gracing the sidelines for 45 years at the Div. I and professional level. An offensive assistant with the Chicago Bears from 2001-03, as well as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2000 and receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1994-99, Carmichael has held major college positions at the University of Pittsburgh and locally at Boston College. Working for the BC Eagles gave him a good feel for the area, one of the main reasons he chose to come coach at Tufts.
"The whole school here is so welcoming; it's great how these kids are able to play in an academic atmosphere," said Carmichael, who will take charge as defensive backs coach. "My part as a coach is small though. I just have to get the players to play, put them in the right position and maintain the success they've had in the past couple of years."
Carmichael — who holds no relation to the namesake of the Tufts dining hall but still says the food there is "pretty good" — joins Samko's staff after a year off from the game following a stint at Louisiana Tech in 2007. Despite his laundry list of accomplishments, Carmichael said his vast experience in football does not necessarily make his coaching judgments correct all the time. Still, his experience will inevitably yield valuable insights that he can contribute to the success of the Tufts program.
"If I give [the players] an example of someone in the pros or at the college level who has made it big, then it gives them experiences," Carmichael said. "Naming a player they recognize definitely helps; I've seen it in their everyday hustle."
Unlike Carmichael and his four-and-half decades of coaching experience, Velasquez comes to Tufts at the age of 25, making him just a few years older than many of the players he now oversees as an assistant coach. A resident of the New England area since he was 15, Velasquez joins the Tufts staff after graduating from Endicott College in 2006, where he was a four-year captain in the football program and competed on the offensive line.
Having played professional football for six months in Dublin, Velasquez said that his experience in Ireland has made him a better coach and ideally suited for a Div. III program.
"When you play overseas, there are some Div.-I caliber players, but there are also kids who haven't played since high school," Velasquez said. "It helped me adjust to a wide range of talents at the coaching level. I look at a player for who they are, not who I think they should be at this level. It gives me a realistic perspective."
Rounding out the new coaches on the Jumbo staff is Civetti, the new offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. A 2001 graduate of NESCAC rival Trinity College, Civetti is no stranger to the gridiron, having garnered All-Conference and All-American honors during his playing career. Civetti joins the Jumbos after spending the past year as the offensive graduate assistant at North Carolina State University.
Despite the hype over the new coaches, Velasquez and Carmichael insist that it is the returning staff members, headed by Samko, who will form the core of the leaders this season on the sideline.
"The coaches here are one of the big reasons I came to Tufts," Velasquez said. "I've known them for a couple of years, and they sold me on this school. You just want to work here because of their experience around the game."
Tufts, which finished 5-3 last season, will open its season Saturday against NESCAC rival Wesleyan on Zimman Field at 1 p.m. For the new coaches, this marks the beginning of what they foresee as the start of a winning tradition at Tufts.
"If we had the same coaching staff with an inexperienced sophomore class leading, we would not be as good," Velasquez said. "It's the combination of these two essential factors [experienced players and coaches] — the main components of winning teams — that leads us as coaches to believe that this season will be a successful one."
