In search of elusive Germino

Mike Germino is one of the biggest reasons for Penn's defensive success, but if he had it his way, no one would know. Germino does not like to give interviews. In fact, he's given only one all year. To me. For the better part of thirty seconds. I thought it was a bit puzzling when he did not stick around after practice earlier in the year when his name was requested for the post-practice reporter's feeding frenzy. Usually, players like to get their names in the papers, I thought. But that was where I first went wrong. Mike Germino is not the usual football player. Germino was widely recruited in high school not only for his ability to play one of any number of positions well, but also for his academic skills. Penn coach Al Bagnoli remembered his attempts to lure Germino to Philadelphia. "We tried to recruit him in high school," Bagnoli said. "I actually made a home visit, so we knew all about him. "He was a very talented kid, a kid who could play probably three or four different positions -- fullback, defensive end, linebacker, defensive tackle." But Bagnoli and Penn apparently did not have everything Germino was looking for. "We lost him to Boston University on a full scholarship," Bagnoli said. Germino joined a struggling Boston program, which went 2-20 in his first two years there. He played offense and defense for the Terriers, averaging 5.4 yards per carry at fullback and working his way up to starting defensive end. Then, on October 25, 1997, the team was informed that the Trustees of Boston University unilaterally voted to drop football. Without discussion, without warning, the Trustees erased a team only four years removed from an undefeated season. Betrayed and sold-out, Boston University football players either has to swallow the decision or look elsewhere. So rather than finish out his career at Boston without football, Germino chose to come to Penn. "When they dropped football, it was a pretty logical progression for us to try to follow up on him and get him here because of his academics," Bagnoli said. Unlike most of the varsity squad, Germino took a long, winding road to Franklin Field. And I thought it would make a good story. I kept calling Sports Information and was usually met with quite a chuckle when I kept asking for Germino, who had first started working out with the team last spring and ended up in the starting lineup in the fall. "I though he had a chance [to start] given the success he had at BU," Bagnoli said. "We knew he was a real good football player, it was just a question of how fast he could adapt to this system." But Germino did not just catch the eye of his coaches. Perhaps more importantly, his teammates took notice. "In spring ball, I kind of saw him as you'd see a freshman. He's coming in and he doesn't really know the system," junior defensive lineman Brent Stiles said. "I don't know about the coaching staff, but obviously [as] a first-year player, you're not going to expect them to come in and start making contributions right away. "But towards the end of spring ball it was obvious that he would be able to make some sort of contribution whether it be as an outside pass rusher on passing downs or whatever." His mere presence on the field lit a spark under every defensive lineman on the team. Defensive coordinator Mike Toop said a lot of the other linemen's performances were made possible by Germino's play. "I think the biggest thing that Mike has brought aside his ability [is his] tremendous competitive spirit," Toop said. "There's no question that he stepped up the competition level dramatically at that position." A junior transfer fights his way into the starting lineup. A football player comes to Penn from a folded program. A quick learner earns the respect of his teammates. There were a million ways to spin this story. And I just needed one. A few more stops to practice revealed a portrait of a bright, talented player -- one that I still hadn't interviewed. "What I like about him is the kid's motor is always going, his engine's always running 100 miles an hour," Bagnoli said. "And he brings a little bit of tenacity to that defensive line. That's what you need there. You need someone with a little bit of energy, you need someone to have a little competitiveness, you need someone who's going 100 miles [an hour] the whole time." Ed Carpenter, director of sports information at Boston University, recalled Germino in his two years there. "He was a really intense player, and very intelligent," Carpenter said. "He's a really smart kid." Coupling his brain with his brawn, it's no wonder Germino has made such a splash in so little time at Penn. "His reaction time off the ball is phenomenally fast," Stiles said. "So even if he doesn't know exactly what to do, he makes up for it with his athleticism." Penn co-captain and free safety Joe Piela said he felt Germino's impact as early as the team's first scrimmage against Millersville. "They got the ball and they started driving down the field a little bit," the senior said. "We got back in the huddle after they made a couple of plays, and he just went off. He started yelling and screaming at guys, 'What's going on, what are we doing? Let's step it up and make some plays.' "Right then and there I knew that his presence was going to be felt and he was going to make a difference on this team." After the Brown game and weeks of pestering, the Penn Sports Information director called me and told me that Germino -- the man who Piela said brought "attitude" to the Quakers defense -- would talk to me at practice. So this was it. I had finally gotten Germino to agree to an interview. Here was my chance. But oh, how little I had learned. He walked up to me after practice, still in his pads. As I introduced myself, he gave me a look and a grip that made me think how glad I was that I was just a little shit reporter and not lined up across from him. I asked him to talk about his career at Boston. "I'm at Penn, let's talk about Penn. I don't want to talk about that." A little taken back, I asked him why he chose Penn. He answered me with no hesitation and absolute conviction in a voice that registered nothing but absolute business. "I chose to come to Penn because it's a winning program. We have winning coaches and this team has a great attitude. I lost a lot of games at Boston University and I came here to win." I should have ended it there. I should have known that that statement summed up everything he was about and everything I could ever hope to glean from him in a 1,000 interviews. He came here to win. But I pressed, and he, visibly annoyed, said, "Can we talk about the game on Saturday? I don't want to do a personal history." So now I'm doing a personal history on Mike Germino. And in swallowing all of the hero worship and jingoistic banter that sports writing has become, I forgot the most important thing about the man. He's a football player. Let him play football.

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