Former Saint Elizabeth and Wesley quarterback Steve Azzanesi was just over two years into a blossoming television sportscasting career when he received a life-changing phone call.
"'I have a full-time job coaching with me if you want to come back."
The person on the other end of the line was Wesley Football Coach Mike Drass, and the position was on the coaching staff of Azzanesi's alma mater.
Azzanesi handed over his WBOC-TV microphone and went back to Dover, starting what would be a 17-year run with the Wolverines, including six NCAA Division III National semifinal appearances.
Now, after a two-year stop at Delaware State University, Azzanesi has his first head coaching job, with Division III Alvernia in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Azzanesi said the coaching bug stuck quickly, reinforced by going to the wedding of Wesley All-American quarterback Shane McSweeney six weeks ago.
"It's really been rewarding seeing guys we coached who have great lives and doing great in their profession. I've gotten a lot out of that feeling of coaching. I'm glad I made that change."
Azzanesi has shined as a recruiter, bringing countless all-conference and all-region players, especially from New Jersey, two his two stops.
"I just love people, recruiting is about building relationships. Obviously you have to bring them to your university and show them all the great things, but it's really about relationships. It's about them feeling comfortable with you, parent-wise you have the child's best interest, and help them getting to the best place they can be in their major, and getting a job that can set them up for the next 40 years."
Drass, who died in 2018, won 224 games with Wesley, and Azzenesi said he was trying to learn as many lessons as he could along the way to be ready for this type of an opening.
"It's about people. Everyone knows how many wins he had and the success his football teams had, and how much success his football teams had, but he was about people and making young men be the best they could be. It's the best education I could have ever had playing for him and then being on the sidelines with him."
Azzanesi also credited Chip Knapp, who was his Offensive Coordinator as a player, and then elevated Steve to Offensive Coordinator when Drass died and Knapp became head coach.
"I've known [Knapp] since I was 18-years-old. We spent a lot of time working on the Wesley Offense and game planning. We stayed in touch, and I'm so proud of what he's doing at Dover High, it was a special group of people. I also talked to [DSU Head Coach\ Rod Milstead, and he's a good man, and excited to see what he does going forward, I'm a Hornets fan."
Azzanesi said while he spent the last two years in FCS football with DelState, the Division III game was always close to his heart.
"Throughout the last couple years, I still would get on D3football.com and still see what was going on in the D3 football world. I spent so much time in small college football, so I'm super excited to be the head coach at Alvernia."
The Wilmington native inherits an Alvernia program that is still trying to find its stride.
The Golden Wolves started their program in 2018, and have struggled to a 3-28 record in the competitive Middle Atlantic Conference that provided some of Wesley's toughest competition.
Azzanesi said a familiar face helped lure him to Pennsylvania.
"When I was at Wesley, there was a dean named Mary Alice Ozechoski, she just really worked hard, and I felt like she moved Wesley to a better place. When I saw this job was open, and I saw she was enrollment manager and other titles, I know she would work hard to make Alvernia better, much like Wesley."
One advantage for Azzanesi will be location, as Reading's proximity to Delaware will mean he's still talking to many of the same schools where he hopes to attract talent.
"The recruiting territory is pretty much the same as Wesley and Delaware State. There's a lot of talent in a 2-2.5 hour radius of Reading, Pennsylvania."
Azzanesi said his pitch to Alvernia was energy.
"They're getting somebody that's enthusiastic about helping young men be the best they can be. We had a great team meeting [Monday night] and one of the things I tried to convey to the guys, who are 18-22 years old, that there's change coming out them. I told them about myself, and talked about the plan on how we can move forward and be the best we can be, whether it's Spring football, or the weight room. We'll set them up to be the best they can be when they leave Alvernia University."
The 44-year-old may be a long way from the television lights of Salisbury, but he hopes the spotlight of Reading shines bright as he embarks on his first head coaching journey.
