Back in 2007, when former head coach Ralph Friedgen realized he didn’t have enough scholarships to accommodate all the recruits Maryland had signed, he asked Joe Vellano to take a “grayshirt” year.
That spoke volumes as to how lightly regarded the defensive lineman was coming out of Christian Brothers Academy in upstate New York. Vellano voluntarily sat out the 2007 season and did not enroll at Maryland until January, 2008 when a scholarship became available.
Five years later, Vellano has developed into one of the finest players in Maryland history.
The 6-1, 285-pound tackle was named a second-team All-American by both the Associated Press and Walter Camp Football Foundation after finishing third on the team with 94 tackles. He was also selected first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference after leading all Football Bowl Subdivision defensive linemen with an average of 7.8 tackles per game.
“Joe is one heck of a football player who has a tremendous motor and great feel for the game. He plays hard on each and every play and is just a pleasure to coach,” Maryland coach Randy Edsall said. “What makes Joe so good is his intensity and love for the game. He loves to work and loves to compete.”
Vellano, a team captain as a junior, led Maryland with 7.5 tackles for loss and also had four pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 2011. He was one-man wrecking crew against Georgia Tech, single-handedly disrupting the triple-option offense with a career-high 20 tackles.
“I told (Vellano) after the game that was as good as anybody has ever played against one of my teams,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “He tackled the quarterback, he tackled the pitch man, he even tackled the receiver once. He just plays really hard.”
Truth be told, the main reason Friedgen offered Vellano a scholarship was out of respect for his father. Friedgen was a graduate assistant under Jerry Claiborne when Paul Vellano was a standout defensive tackle for Maryland. The elder Vellano was a first-team Kodak All-American as a senior in 1973 while playing alongside college and NFL legend Randy White.
Joe Vellano wears No. 72 in honor of his father, and former teammates have told Paul Vellano that his son has the same playing style.
“Since I was a little kid playing football my father would yell: ‘Run to the ball, run to the ball,’ Vellano said. “I’ve been hearing that since Pop Warner so it’s kind of ingrained in me now.”