Hofstra Quarterback Top Prospect After Long Journey

After barking out signals one final time at practice, Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi removed his helmet, strolled across the grass and plopped himself under a tree.

The big California kid with the curly brown hair and deep-set hazel eyes still had plenty to talk about. As he surveyed the scene--coach Joe Gardi walking off the field with his players a few days before a game against defending I-AA national champion Massachusetts -- he just shook his head with a bemused smile on his face.

“Weird,” he said. “It’s just so weird how it all turned out.”

Carmazzi isn’t kidding. Four years after showing up at a suburban Long Island school 3,000 miles from home, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Carmazzi has developed into a top NFL quarterback prospect.

A strong, accurate right arm and a knack for reading defenses and knowing when to run has put him on one scouting services’ short list of seniors that includes Marshall’s Chad Pennington, Louisville’s Chris Redman and Louisiana Tech’s Tim Rattay.

“He’s got all the tools you look for physically and mentally,” said Gil Brandt, former Dallas Cowboys’ director of player personnel who now works for the NFL. “There’s going to be a lot of scouts making a trail to watch the Flying Dutchmen work out.”

Of all the long, strange trips players have taken in pursuit of football fame and fortune, not many can top the tale of Gio Carmazzi.

“Let’s just say I’ve taken the road less traveled,” he said. “But it’s really nice to have the opportunity to fulfill a dream.”

After starring at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, Calif., a team coached by his father, Dan, Carmazzi stayed close to home and walked on at the University of Pacific in 1995. Colorado State, Oregon and Washington showed interest, but scholarships weren’t offered.

At Pacific, in Stockton, Calif., Carmazzi was red-shirted, and then, two weeks before Christmas, the school dropped a bombshell.

It shut down the football program.

“They told us they’d never cut it,” Carmazzi said. “There was tradition. They said they had great teams in the ‘40s and Eddie LeBaron went there. ... Then they dropped it. At first, I thought it was a joke.”

No joke.

With four years of eligibility remaining, Carmazzi had but a few weeks to find another college. His options were limited. He was a backup for a lower-end I-A school with a short resume highlighted by “Scout Team Player of the Year.”

Knowing his best chance to play right away was in I-AA, his choices came down to the only three schools in need of a quarterback - Montana State, Villanova and Hofstra.

“I never heard of Hofstra, not even remotely close,” Carmazzi said. “But Montana State’s not the most happenin’ place, and Villanova had had a couple of rough seasons.”

Which left Hofstra, a program that had just moved up to I-AA and was coached by Gardi, a former New York Jets assistant.

“I came east to visit, and what happened? There’s a blizzard,” he said. “I’d never seen falling snow before and there’s 12 feet of it. But I liked the place. I thought it was a good situation.”

Well, it was a good situation if you liked being thrown to the wolves, because that’s just what Gardi did with Carmazzi. It was a mistake.

In ‘96, Carmazzi started just four games, completing 33-of-66 for 415 yards and five TDs as Hofstra went 5-6.

“We were terrible on offense, and he had no supporting cast,” Gardi said. “We were desperate for a quarterback, and when we got Gio, I told him he’d start. I’m not sure he was ready.”

Carmazzi was staggered, but then he was floored after his first meeting with Rob Spence, the new offensive coordinator Gardi hired for the ’97 season.

“He told me, ‘I’ve just looked at the films from last year. And son, I don’t think you’ll ever play here again,”’ Carmazzi said.

That’s when he reached the crossroads. Should he stay or should he go?

“I didn’t want to tuck my tail and leave here after playing so poorly,” Carmazzi said. “I took a lot of the blame for the season, but I wasn’t about to run away from a difficult situation. I wanted to prove to people here and at home that I was a good quarterback.”

He hit the weightroom. He hit the school books. He hit the playbook, the film sessions and took notes during strategy chats with Gardi and Spence.

He added muscle and pounds--he showed up at Hofstra “a scrawny 175 pounds,” his father said. He learned to read defenses better. The offense was retooled to his style -- hitting the quick post and fade routes. Along the way, he carried a 3.9 GPA in business administration and recently became a Rhodes Scholar candidate.

The next year, he had a season to remember. In ‘97, he passed for 3,554 yards and 27 touchdowns with just eight interceptions and led the nation in total offense at 336.7 yards per game. He was voted I-AA’s Independent offensive player of the year as the Flying Dutchmen made the playoffs and finished 9-3.

Since then, Gardi has fine-tuned the offense, giving the team a more balanced attack but not allowing Carmazzi to put up similar numbers. Still, in ’98 he threw for 2,751 yards and 18 TDs, and also ran for 443 yards and 11 more TDs.

Through four games this season, he has thrown for 901 yards and six TDs, and run for 97 yards and four TDs. Also, he’s one of 16 seniors--the only one from I-AA--nominated for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

“His best quality is he’s like Bob Griese, he doesn’t make mistakes,” Gardi said. “He can get you by throwing the bomb or the quick post, or he can bootleg or run the quarterback draw. He’s a leader and take-charge guy. He’s got everything it takes to make it in the NFL.”

Apparently, so have a few other Hofstra players. Flying Dutchmen in the NFL are injured Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet, guard DeMingo Graham of the San Diego Chargers, and defensive back Lance Shulters and offensive tackle Dave Fiore, both with the San Francisco 49ers.

With so many scouts flocking to Hempstead, Carmazzi’s teammates are reaping an unexpected benefit. Scouts are also taking peeks at running back Vaughn Sanders and linebacker Jim Emanuel.

“If they get shots at the NFL out of this,” Carmazzi said, “that will be the best thing of all.”