By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
The calls still
come in for him to play quarterback, particularly from the arena football
leagues.
But for
now, Gino Guidugli is content to help bring the NCAA Division I Central
Michigan Chippewas back to the top of the Mid-American Conference. Guidugli is
in his first season as the Running Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator in
Mount Pleasant.
“I’m so proud of (Guidugli),” said Dale Mueller, Highlands Head Coach/Offensive
Coordinator. “He just always loved
football. He really had a coach’s mind when he was a player. I was really
pleased when he became a football coach.”
Guidugli
returned to Central Michigan after serving as Offensive Graduate Assistant
there between 2009 and 2011. Guidugli earned his Master’s Degree in Sport
Administration from CMU in 2012 after earning his Bachelor’s Degree from the
University of Cincinnati in 2005.
Central
Michigan Head Coach Dan Enos helped Guidugli get into coaching. Enos served as
the Quarterbacks coach during Guidugli’s senior year at UC in 2004. Enos spent
two years at UC before spending another three as an assistant at Michigan State
before taking the CMU job in 2009.
“I don’t know if it was because I was more mature my
senior season,” Guidugli said. “I felt like I learned the most (from Enos).
He prepared me each week for games. I just looked up to him for that. I needed
something more of a career path once football was over. So I called Coach Enos
just to keep my foot in the door to be a college football coach. He said he was
in the second interview at Central Michigan and if he got the job, he’d like me
to come help him. So I followed it (in 2009). The next thing I know, he gets
the job. He was using the same (Pro-Style) offense I ran at Cincinnati. He
offered me a position in March of this year. I felt like it was an opportunity
I couldn’t pass up.”
Guidugli
set several UC passing records. Guidugli recently made the UC Hall of Fame
after an amazing four years between 2001 and 2004. He still holds school
records with 1,556 attempts, 880 completions, 11,453 passing yards, 78
touchdowns and 11,661 yards of total offense.
“(The induction) means a lot,” Guidugli said. “I
just feel really honored to be in the company of the (UC) Hall of Fame and the
people that I was inducted with. It was a really nice ceremony. A lot of
getting inducted into the Hall of Fame goes back to the people who helped get
you there whether it is coaches or other players you played with.”
The two
helped UC to a victory in the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl. Guidugli earned Most
Valuable Player honors in that game.
The
Chippewas stand 3-6 overall and 2-3 in MAC action in an injury-riddled year.
But they hope to finish the year with wins over Western Michigan (1-9, 1-5),
the University of Massachusetts (1-8, 1-4) and Eastern Michigan (2-8, 1-5) and
become bowl eligible.
“Coaching is what I want to do long-term,” Guidugli said. “It
is just a transition. I look back at all the great coaches I had in my career
starting with Dale Mueller at Highlands High School with the way those guys
prepared you each week and drove you to be successful. That’s what I’m trying
to do with the kids that I coach.”
Guidugli
said he recruits around Chicago and northern Indiana. That competes with the
territories of MAC rivals Northern Illinois, Ball State and Western Michigan
among others.
“For me as far as my recruiting area goes, the
toughest aspect is it is five hours from Mount Pleasant to Chicago,” Guidugli said. “Not
only is it the distance, but you also have to drive past a Ball State, Northern
Illinois, Western Michigan or Eastern Michigan to get to Mount Pleasant. That
can be a challenge but we’ve had great success getting players out of Chicago.
We have a couple in this incoming class that we feel pretty good about.
Usually, if we can get the kids on campus, they fall in love with the place.”
The
Mid-American Conference teams play during the week a lot for television
revenue. That’s been an adjustment for Guidugli.
“When we were at Cincinnati, we had a lot of Friday
games that I remember,” Guidugli
said. “I think anytime as a player or
coach that you can play on national TV and get your players exposure, it’s good
for you. It can be a struggle sometimes to game plan if you’re operating on a
short week. But I think the benefits outweigh the negatives.”
Guidugli
said coaching involves long hours. There are days he’s in the office by 6 a.m.
during the season and out by 9 p.m. on many days.
“A lot of people don’t understand the hours and time
it takes to get a team prepared to play a game on Saturday,” Guidugli said. “Sometimes,
I think other people think you just go to practice and role the ball out on
Saturday. Some coaches grind you to the ground, but Coach Enos isn’t one of
those coaches. Most of the time, we’re free to go at 6:30 p.m. It’s just that
you want to get that extra film study so you can make sure your players are
prepared on Saturday. You want to make sure you’ve covered everything and gone
over it with your players. A lot of that is voluntary time.”
After
graduting from UC, Guidugli tried out for the Tennessee Titans in 2005. He
played several years in the Arena Football League and two years in the Canadian
Football League with the British Columbia Lions. In 2011, he helped the Arena
Football League’s Milwaukee Mustangs to three wins to end the season throwing
for 1,313 yards and 23 touchdowns to go with four interceptions.
Guidugli
said he still keeps tabs on the Bluebirds. He helped Highlands win Class 3A
state championships in 1999 and 2000 before graduating in 2001 and said he
hopes they bring another this year.
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