Monday, October 27, 2008

Daily Cal: Giorgio Tavecchio's Path to Memorial Stadium, Beginning in Italy, Redefines the Unconventional

By Jack Ross

Picture reading the following in today's media guide about one of the Bears' starting players. Would you believe it?  Walked on to the Cal football team only three days before the first game.  First player to touch a ball in the Bears' 2008 season. Less than three years of total football experience ... Born in Milan, Italy.

At first glance, the story of freshman kicker Giorgio Tavecchio seems too outlandish to be true. And certainly, there isn't much about his profile that says "football player," whether it be his inescapably Italian heritage, his happy-go-lucky, wild-hand-gesturing persona, or his diminutive 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame.

Today, as he handles Cal's kickoff and field goal duties, there's no doubt that Tavecchio is a football player, no matter how unbelievable that is.  Truth be told, only a few years ago, there was a strong chance that Tavecchio would be playing a different kind of football.  In fact, it took a conversation with a friend at Campolindo High School in Moraga, Calif., to redirect Tavecchio's path away from penalty kicks and towards place-kicking-a chance he initially scoffed at.   "I was walking through the halls one day," Tavecchio says with his usual excitable Italian inflection. "And a buddy of mine on the football team comes up to me and says, 'Hey Giorgio, we need a kicker. You wanna try it?'  "I said, 'Yeah, right. I mean foot-ball. C'mon, man.'"

Enter Mama Tavecchio to kick start his football career.  "Then, I went home and told my mom and she said, 'Hey, try something new! We're in America. Play an American sport!'" he says. "So, I thought, 'OK,' and kicked the next day. And I liked it. It was kinda awkward, but I started to get into it."  A few days later, Tavecchio replaced the lineman who was starting and claimed the kicking throne by the next game. He started for the next two years, but because of his second career as a midfielder for the school's soccer team, Tavecchio lacked the time needed to attend camps that put kickers on the recruiting map. Despite early correspondence with Cal special teams coach Pete Alamar, the two fell out of touch. And so, when his high school career approached its end, his college plans consisted not of Cal football, but instead of soccer at UC Davis. With no contact from the Bears in over two months, that was the plan until May 28, 2008, at 4:10 p.m. "I was sitting there, watching TV," Tavecchio says. "And then Alamar calls me. He explained to me that a spot opened up. And I said, 'Of course, I'd love to go (to Cal).'"  In a flash, it was settled-Tavecchio would be a Bear.  Actually being accepted by his teammates, however, was not as instaneous. Once Tavecchio joined the team in late August, many Cal players, specifically non-kickers, made him work to earn his stripes. None of it phased the lefty kicker.

"Being a freshman, walk-on, kicker ... That's the lowest on the totem pole," Tavecchio says. "I still get (flack) every day, which is fine. If they give me crap or make fun of me, it means I'm part of the team. I love it." Though his Cal career is still in its infancy, Tavecchio's is quickly making his mark. He is often praised by Alamar and coach Jeff Tedford for being impervious to the pressures of kicking-composure that's already been displayed this season. There was his season-opening kickoff, a task the youthful Italian accepted with dignity. When told of his first assignment by Alamar, the stoic Tavecchio responded as if he was being asked to carry out a supremely important military assignment: "It would be an honor."

Last week in enemy territory at Arizona, he was asked to attempt the first field goal of his collegiate career from 51 yards, longer than any field goal he had ever attempted. No matter, the unflappable Tavecchio fired a strong kick, barely missing wide right.  Unshaken, Tavecchio came on again later in the half for a 42-yarder, showing he had no trouble putting his miss behind him by drilling the ball square between the uprights.  "The best feeling for me was after (I made the kick)," Tavecchio says. "I walked off the field and (Tedford) had a big smile on his face and gave me a high five. That was just Molto bene!"

Tedford is certainly not the only one who is tickled by Tavecchio, as his mannerisms entertain teammates and reporters alike.  His speech is always accompanied with animated hand gestures with Italian influence: "I guess it's in my blood."  He even attempted, unsuccessfully, to interject his heritage into his team, trying to get the special teams unit to break with a loud "Go Bears!"-only in Italian instead of English. And at his first media luncheon, he finished his first interview-only to return 30 minutes later, panting and sweating after riding a one-pedal bike up the hill to Memorial Stadium-laboring to make sure he thanked his high school kicking coach, Mike Ahr, whom he forgot to mention.  With kicking acumen and an engaging personality, Tavecchio has quickly become something of a Cal celebrity.  A month ago, after David Seawright and Jordan Kay combined to boot three kickoffs out of bounds, Tedford jokingly announced his intentions to start a campus-wide search to "find out if we have any soccer players who can kick the ball in bounds."  The exact answer to Tedford's kicking quandry was waiting on the Cal sideline. His name is Giorgio Tavecchio. And believe it or not, you can read more about him in today's media guide.

 

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