Vince Picozzi's route to Northwestern has been anything but conventional. NU will be the third school in his seven-year career.
It hasn't always been easy for Picozzi, who has suffered through multiple season-ending knee injuries and had no FBS offers out of high school. But the love of football has kept the Pennsylvania native going and brought him to Evanston.
Picozzi committed to the Wildcats last week as an interior offensive lineman with one season of eligibility remaining. He aims to make the most of that year.
"I have uncles and they always tell me, 'You always remember the last day you take off those pads and never put them back on, so if you can keep playing, keep playing as long as you can,'" Picozzi said. "That's what I intend to do: play as long as I can."
Picozzi's odyssey could give Homer a run for his money. To best tell the story one has to go back to where it all started: Lansdale (Pa.) Catholic.
Despite a strong career as a two-way player for the Crusaders that included all-Catholic and all-state honors, the University of Delaware was the only school to offer Picozzi a scholarship. He had his sights set higher, though, and chose to walk on at Temple.
"I took the walkon (opportunity) at Temple because I wanted to play the highest level of football I could," Picozzi said. "Ever since day one, I've been out to prove that to people. I'm here to play football, and I'm here to play at the highest level possible."
He redshirted his first season at Temple, in 2016. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, he served as a backup and made his first career start, at right guard.
The next year Picozzi finally got his chance to be a full-time starter. He started all 13 games for the Owls, 10 at left guard and three at center. He continued to be a starter at guard for the Owls over the next two years, but did suffer a season-ending injury in 2019.
After starting at every position across the offensive line except right tackle during his time as a three-year starter in the city of Brotherly Love, Picozzi decided to enter the transfer portal and use his "COVID-year" of eligibility elsewhere. Picozzi didn't have much to say about the end of his time at Temple other than "things weren't working out for me."
He found his new home out west at Colorado State. He brought 34 starts worth of experience to Fort Collins, but a knee injury cut his season short after four games. Fortunately, he was granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA which extended his career one more season.
"I was fortunate enough to work with Coach (Steve) Addazio and his staff," Picozzi said. "After he was fired, the new head coach came in and removed the graduate students from the roster, myself included, so I was in the portal again for my last season."
That's how Picozzi found his way to Evanston. The final stop on a journey that started so long ago in Pennsylvania.
When he was forced into the portal by Colorado State, he didn't have a shortage of options. His old offensive line coach at Temple had been rehired to coach the offensive line and wanted to bring Picozzi back to Philly. His offensive line coach at Colorado State had been hired at Nevada and wanted to bring Picozzi with him.
Remember what Picozzi said about always wanting to play at the highest level possible? He certainly did. Once Northwestern reached out, the opportunity to play in the Big Ten was too good to pass up.
Picozzi took an official visit to Evanston over the weekend and made his commitment official soon thereafter.
"Between (head) Coach (Pat) Fitzgerald and Coach (Kurt) Anderson, the offensive line coach, you can tell they both love football," Picozzi said. "It was just somewhere I felt was the right fit for me as I continue to develop as a player."
Picozzi said that his role with Northwestern will be determined by how quickly he picks up the offense. With center Sam Gerak graduating, there is an opening in the interior of the Wildcat offensive line that Picozzi is one of the favorites to fill, whether it’s at center or guard. He’s ready to work for it.
This is a former walkon who just had his scholarship pulled at his last school. Nothing's ever been handed to him, and he knows it isn't going to start now.
"I think a lot of the players that are the best on Coach Fitz's teams, you get what you earn, and I'm a firm believer in that, as well," he said.
