When UMass head coach Joe Harasymiak was asked Monday about going against UConn offensive coordinator Nunzio Campanile this week, his answer sounded less like a scouting report than a reference letter.
“Me and Nunz worked together at Rutgers,” Harasymiak said. “He’s from North Jersey, so am I. Recruiting, when he was the head coach at Bergen Catholic and those kinds of things.
“Nunz is a great dude. I appreciate him a lot.”
The two have stayed close since Rutgers. They talk every offseason, and Harasymiak’s evaluation of Campanile goes beyond the play sheet.
“Just a really good coach, someone that I would want to work with again,” said Harasymiak. “Just the way he handles his players. He’s a great dad. All the things that you want.”
The Harbaugh family may get a lot of attention in terms of a family of coaches, but they’ve got nothing on the Campaniles.
Nunzio Campanile became the Huskies’ offensive coordinator this offseason after spending the last three seasons at Syracuse, where he served as Associate Head Coach. Prior to that, he coached at Rutgers, where he served on the same staff as Harasymiak. Campanile served several roles for the Scarlet Knights, including offensive coordinator and interim head coach.
Before all of that, he was one of the most successful high school coaches in New Jersey, spending eight seasons at Bergen Catholic, going 60-28 and winning the 2017 state championship as head coach, after a decade as the offensive coordinator at Don Bosco Prep where he helped produce six state championships and the 2009 national title. He played quarterback and safety for his father, Mike, at Paramus Catholic.
His father was a legendary high school coach in New Jersey. His brother Vito is currently at Bergen Catholic, where he has cemented himself as one of the best high school coaches in America. He has another brother, Nicky, who is the head coach at DePaul Catholic High School in New Jersey. And, still another brother, Anthony, who is currently the defensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Vito played quarterback for the Minutemen in the 90s while Anthony is coaching under UMass legend Liam Coen in Jacksonville, so there are some ties to the University.
“It’s a coaching family,” Harasymiak said.
Friday night, that family business becomes UMass’ problem.
Campanile calls the plays for what Harasymiak has called the most explosive offense the Minutemen will probably face all year.
The production backs up the praise.
In Campanile’s first season with the Huskies, UConn is averaging 35.7 points and 449.2 yards per game, with 28 touchdowns scored six different ways: 17 on the ground and 11 through the air. They have topped 34 points in four of their six games, and the balance is what makes them hard to sit on, 192.7 rushing yards per game at 5.3 per carry against 256.5 passing yards per game at 8.8 per attempt.
It is built on a quarterback who fits the play-caller.
Kalieb Osborne has thrown just three interceptions all season while leading an offense that has produced 39 plays of 20+ yards. The running game goes three deep with Cyncir Bowers, Kenji Christian and Trey Cornist, who broke out for 114 yards on just seven carries against Temple. And Osborne is the second-leading rusher from behind center.
There is no single player to take away, which is exactly how Campanile has always built it.
“I know he’ll have them prepared. Him and Vito are great offensive play-callers, so I know he’ll have them ready.”
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