Skills transfer well
Unwanted at Illinois, Mele finds home at NU
BROOKLINE - It was just one outstanding highlight on a tape full of them. But that's all it took to convince Northeastern football coach Rocky Hager that Joe Mele, then a redshirt freshman linebacker who was looking to transfer from Illinois after Ron Zook replaced the fired Ron Turner, would be a perfect fit with the Huskies.
"The transition that he went through at Illinois [when Zook took over] is one that, ultimately, he can't feel good about because he got left out," Hager said of Mele (pronounced MEAL-ee). "But we felt really good about it because we saw him on tape making plays."
The third-year NU coach recalled one play in particular that seemed to jump off the screen.
"Against Michigan, Braylon Edwards, open field, one on one," Hager said, setting the scene. "Joe steps in there and wraps him up and tackles him for no gain. That was a very impressive play. That was one of the plays where I said, 'Wow, this guy is a good football player.' "
But it wasn't that play alone that sold Hager.
"Then we saw him on tape against Minnesota and Michigan State," Hager said. "Those are the ones where I remember plays where I was like, 'Holy cow, how are they not using him?' But the change in system and not utilizing the three-man front is what left Joe in a situation where he was not fitting into their system.
"You can't fault Coach Zook and the system because obviously he's had success with it [at Florida]," Hager added. "But sometimes there's certain puzzle parts that don't fit. Joe was one of those puzzle parts that came here and fit very nicely."
When the Huskies open their season at noon today at Northwestern, it will mark Mele's return to 47,130-seat Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill., where he played his last Big Ten game, a 28-21 loss Nov. 20, 2004. It also proved to be the last game of Turner's eight-year tenure at Illinois and set into motion Mele's move from Champaign to Boston.
"Going out there? Yeah, there's going to be some [sense of deja vu]," said Mele, a 6-foot-1-inch, 240-pounder from Sea Girt, N.J., who ranked as NU's No. 2 tackler (61) last season.
"I've played out there one time and it was pretty cool, but the cool thing is that we played at Virginia Tech last year [in Blacksburg, where NU absorbed a 38-0 shutout] and I think guys are used to a bigger stadium and a bigger crowd, so I think we're all ready for it."
As is Mele, who appeared in 10 games and recorded 28 tackles in his lone season with the
"I also got to go to the Rose Bowl my freshman year when we went out there to play UCLA, so that was really cool," said Mele, one of three Huskies captains. "It was a really great experience and I'm happy to have it."
But when Turner was let go and Zook took over, Mele, a standout tight end and linebacker at Manasquan High, knew it was time to start looking elsewhere. "The type of guys they were looking for to play linebacker at Illinois were faster and a little different, so I ended up transferring and sent out my tapes to all the Atlantic 10 schools and had a lot of offers," said Mele.
While Mele's tape made an impression on Hager and Paul Schaffner, the Huskies' defensive coordinator, NU's academic reputation and coaching staff made an equally favorable impression on Mele, an Atlantic 10 All-Academic selection last season who is studying history and criminal justice and hopes to become a prosecutor.
"It's kind of been a blessing in disguise," Mele said of his transfer. "I get to spend a lot more time with my family, they get to come to all my games, and I would've never reached my potential academically out there the way I have here. And the fact that I've learned how to live in a big city like Boston, it's amazing. I never thought I would've ended up here five years ago. I'm not a big-city guy, I've always been a [Jersey] Shore guy."
Mele hopes to bring his leadership and experience playing at the Division 1-A level to bear in NU's opener. "I've never had a winning record in college and I really want to have one this year," he said. "I don't want to be home for Thanksgiving this year, I want to make the playoffs."
One reason Mele is confident about that prospect: "This is the first time in college I've ever been in the same defense two years in a row, and I'm really excited about that. Coach Schaffner has put together a great 3-4 package for us, and it's working out really well and we've got a lot of different looks. We definitely feel that we can set the tone in a game."
Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com. 