Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

FOOTBALL | Georgetown Hires New Offensive Coordinator

FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA The Hoyas went 8-3 last season and return several key offensive weapons.
FILE PHOTO: CHRIS BIEN/THE HOYA
The Hoyas went 8-3 last season and return several key offensive weapons.

After its most successful season this century, the Georgetown football program announced the hiring of former Columbia quarterbacks coach Vinny Marino as offensive coordinator Tuesday afternoon.

“Vinny comes very highly recommended from people that I know and respect in the business,” Head Coach Kevin Kelly said in a statement. “He really is the total package and fits all of the criteria we were looking for in a coordinator.”

Marino brings a background of success to a Georgetown program on the rise. In his six years at Columbia, Marino helped revive an abysmal Lions’ offense and coached all-Ivy League quarterbacks in five of six years. Prior to working at Columbia, Marino was a wide receivers coach for a Connecticut team that won 20 of 27 games during his tenure. And as a running backs coach in 2000, Marino helped Rhode Island earn its first winning season since 1985.

Marino should slide smoothly into his new role, as the Hoyas return most of their top offensive weapons for the 2012 season. Junior quarterback Isaiah Kempf, who had 1,268 yards and a 109.7 quarterback rating in 2011, will bring senior leadership to an offense that also returns speedy sophomore running back Nick Campanella, who had 499 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. Kempf will also have his two top targets back, junior slot receiver Max Waizenegger and redshirt sophomore wideout Jamal Davis.

Additionally, Marino brings excellent recruiting experience to the Hilltop: While at UConn, he also served as recruiting director. Moreover, his experience at Columbia may assist Georgetown in bringing top athletes to the academically challenging environment.

“He has experience and success as an offensive coordinator. He’s done an excellent job tutoring quarterbacks and has an extensive background of recruiting at academic institutions,” Kelly said.

Marino’s recruiting experience is particularly relevant, as the Patriot League recently voted to allow athletic merit scholarships for football starting in 2013. Marino specializes in recruiting players from New England, Florida and Georgia, all areas with strong football traditions.

Marino’s strong ties with these areas, coupled with the new Patriot League scholarship policy, could provoke an increase in interest from talented recruits. Fordham Head Coach Joe Moorhead described how rewarding the new scholarship policy will be for the league.

“I have seen how awarding merit-based aid has greatly increased the quality of student-athletes that we are able to recruit,” Moorhead said in a statement. “I believe that this decision will benefit the entire Patriot League.”

Despite the Patriot League’s decision, sweeping changes may not be forthcoming for Hoya football. Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia, who played for the Hoyas in the 1970s, has opposed a move to football scholarships in the past and vowed to examine all possibilities.

“Georgetown will continue its membership in the Patriot League in the sport of football and explore all of its options, including our ability to compete as a need-based program,” DeGioia wrote in a press release last week.

If it hopes to remain competitive in the Patriot League, however, Georgetown would likely need to offer at least some football scholarships. Need-based programs have a a predictably poor record competing against scholarship programs. For example, Lehigh, who dominated the Patriot League last season, was blown out by scholarship-offering North Dakota State in the playoffs, 24-0. Similarly, Colgate won the Patriot League in 2003, but was demolished by Delaware in the FCS championship, 40-0.

On the heels of the Hoyas’ most successful season in over a decade, the program appears to be taking a step toward committing to its football program. If the university chooses to prioritize football and wishes to have a consistently competitive team, more changes to the program will likely be on the way.

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