Steve Azzanesi excited to run Alvernia football program, start recruiting

Just hours after being named Alvernia University football coach Steve Azzanesi had his first recruiting visit lined up.

“Recruiting starts tonight at 6 o’clock when I meet the team,” the 44-year-old Delaware native said after being introduced Monday afternoon during a virtual press conference. “I can’t wait to get in there and recruit those guys.”

The former Delaware State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is eager to hit the ground running in order to build up the infant program at Alvernia, which has produced just three wins over its first three seasons (and four years).

Athletic director Bill Stiles called the new coach a “recruiting machine,” and Azzanesi knows bringing football talent onto campus is job No. 1. He feels he’s in a good spot to do that.

“If you look at Reading, and a two-and-a-half-hour radius around it, (you’ll find) some of the best high school football around,” Azzanesi said. “It starts with Berks County, and then it goes out from there.

“Southeastern Pennsylvania is a terrific hotbed for football. I’ve recruited New Jersey for 18 years. Delaware’s a (well-kept) secret. Maryland, down to D.C. . . there’s so many hotbeds. I can’t think of a better spot (to be in).”

Azzanesi coached at Delaware State, which plays in the Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the past two seasons. Prior to that he spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach at Wesley College, a top Division III program located in Dover.

Azzanesi replaces Ralph Clark, who established the program in 2017 and went 3-27 in three seasons. (The Golden Wolves did not have a season in 2020 due to the pandemic.)

Alvernia finished 0-10 finish in 2021.

“Steve’s energy (and) enthusiasm are contagious,” said Alvernia athletic director Bill Stiles. “He is committed to developing the whole student-athlete, understands the importance of integrating the football program into the athletic department and university and knows what it takes to win at the Division III level.”

Stiles said there were 170 applicants for the job.

At Wesley Azzanesi served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, along with other roles. The Wolverines were 180-42 overall, made 14 NCAA tournaments, won six South Region titles and played in the national semifinal six times during his time there.

He said he plans to recruit at Alvernia the way he did at Wesley.

“We tried to recruit the best football talent we could find that was a good person, a good teammate,” Azzanesi said. “That’s been our secret: Recruit good people.”

He said he’ll lean on Berks coaches to help him find the right players.

“I can’t wait to get out and meet the coaches in Berks County,” he said.

Azzanesi seems sold on what Alvernia has to offer local students. His job now is to convince potential players of that.

“We have to get ’em here on campus,” he said. “It’s a beautiful campus. Sure, everybody wants to go pro, but that’s not reality (for the players we’re recruiting at this level). (The) reality is: How can we set you up for your next 40 years.

“I would talk to them about all the great things that Alvernia provides in terms of competitive majors that they can (use to) be successful when they get out into the work force. And playing college football can play a role in that.

“Hard skills get you hired. Soft skills, that’s what takes you to the next level in your development as a professional. Being a good teammate, working well with others, being positive. Playing college football — playing any sport — really builds those (soft) skills so that you can use them in the real world.”

Azzanesi has not met with any coaches on last season’s staff; he said that will be among his top priority. He also wants to set up individual meetings with all returning players.

Azzanesi has produced successful offenses wherever he has coached. Last season Delaware State enjoyed its most successful season since 2013, winning five games. The Hornet offense ranked second in the MEAC in scoring and third in passing efficiency and rushing.

Azzanesi was a member of the offensive staff for the entirety of his tenure with the Wolverines. In 2015, while serving as the pass game coordinator and assistant head coach, Wesley led NCAA Division III with an average of 591 total yards per game. It averaged 399 yards in the air and 192 yards on the ground. Quarterback Joe Callahan was one of only two quarterbacks in NCAA history to pass for both 5,000 yards and throw for 55 touchdowns in one season. Callahan later played for the Green Bay Packers.

While at Wesley Azzanesi also served as an assistant athletic director from 2006-2010 before being promoted to associate athletic director from 2011 until he left Wesley for Delaware State.

Clark was hired in Jan. 2017 after serving as defensive coordinator and recruiting for three seasons at Seton Hill University, a member of the Pennsylvania Conference. He previously was defensive coordinator at Millersville University. He coached for 19 seasons before arriving at Alvernia.

He was one of over 300 applicants, according to Stiles