The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
How 6.72 seconds changed everything
Blistering time in an indoor 60-meter dash as Mayfield senior paved the way to Isabella’s one and only FBS offer; now he’s one of the nation’s top wide receivers
Ross Bandiera recently received a questionnaire from the Browns asking information about Mayfield grad Andy Isabella.
One of the first questions was “What position do you anticipate Isabella playing in the NFL?”
The Mayfield coach’s answer: “Inside slot receiver.”
He added a comment: “And he’ll be the fastest receiver in the league.”
Time will tell if Isabella one day plays in the NFL, but there’s no question about the physical attribute that might get him there one day, and that’s his speed.
Isabella and the UMass football team are days away from their regular-season opener Aug. 25 vs. Duquesne. He will be a player to watch for the Minutemen in 2018 as one of the nation’s best wide receivers and playmakers.
Three watch lists for major awards in 2018 have included Isabella’s name: The Biletnikoff Award (nation’s top receiver), The Paul Hornung Award (nation’s most versatile player), and The Wuerrfel Trophy (for academics, athletics and community service).
The story of how he got to this point was anything but conventional, but it’s proof when there’s even the slightest of an opening and opportunity and an individual is willing to work hard enough, anything is possible.
Almost four years ago, Isabella was a really good high school football player at Mayfield who had dreams of playing at the FBS level.
The problem was his only offer was from FCS Lafayette.
At Mayfield, he was also an elite track athlete, one who as
“Coach Whipple answered my prayer. He’s been a great influence, a good coach and a really good friend.” Andy Isabella, on UMass coach Mark Whipple
a senior became the Division I state champion in the 100-meter dash. Before he won that honor in the spring of his senior season, Isabella accomplished something the previous winter that turned heads nationwide, and helped land a scholarship offer that changed his life.
The date was Jan. 28, 2015. The event was the NEOITC Buckeye Meet. The venue was SPIRE Institute in Geneva.
The result was a time of 6.72 seconds by Isabella in the 60-meter dash. Those 6.72 seconds clocked as the fastest in the nation that season in the event.
Colleges took notice, but recruiters weren’t banging down the door on Wilson Mills Road. One school, however, got everyone’s attention.
“I remember it was late in (recruiting) and Oklahoma State showed interest,” said former Mayfield head coach Larry Pinto, who’s now an assistant under Bandiera.
Leading that interest was Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, who graduated from Euclid. The Cowboys had an opening in that year’s recruiting class following the de-commitment of a player. Isabella thought he had a chance. Just as interest heated up, that same player said he was coming to Oklahoma State after all.
Air Force also showed interest, but Isabella wasn’t ready to commit to the school’s post-graduate requirements. Despite his national record and solid high school football credentials, Isabella had zero FBS offers with national signing day approaching.
“I remember talking to (Mid-American Conference) coaches, and saying, ‘You’re really not going to take this kid?’ ” said Pinto. “UMass got a gift, because Andy could have played anywhere.”
The reality is UMass might have missed out, too, had Mayfield track and field coach Steve Canfield not persuaded Isabella to join the Wildcats’ track and field team in time for the indoor season.
“He was really more interested in just working out for football season, but we told him, ‘You can win a state title in 60-meter dash,’ ” said Canfield. “Larry Pinto also coached track and he helped, too. Andy eventually bought in, and he realized this would help him (in recruiting for football). Plus, his work ethic was off the charts.”
Following his national record, the countdown to national signing day continued, and Isabella was still waiting for an offer to play on college football’s top level.
“That was my dream, to play Division I, and I wanted a chance to prove that,” said Isabella. “But no one really thought I would be good in college.”
One FBS coach wasn’t exactly sure about Isabella, but he knew one thing: Isabella was fast enough, and that’s what the coach needed.
“I had come in the year before,” said UMass coach Mark Whipple, who’s in his second stint at the school, and led UMass to the Division I-AA title in 1998. “We were building the program, and we needed guys with speed. We knew Andy could run.”
Isabella wasn’t a typical college prospect at receiver. He was 5-foot-9, about 180 pounds, and was mostly a running back in high school, gaining more than 1,000 yards as a senior for the Wildcats and making big plays throughout the season.
Whipple was familiar with Northeast Ohio — he was the Browns quarterbacks coach in 2011 and 2012. A Cleveland-area high school coach of a player Whipple was recruiting to UMass tipped him off about Isabella. The coach saw video highlights, and saw his 60 dash time. That was good enough.
“I remember it well,” said Isabella. “I was working out at Fitworks (in Richmond Heights), and it was like four days before signing day. Coach Whipple called me, and the minute he offered, I was like, ‘Whatever it is — your offer — I’ll take it.’ “
Isabella inked that deal, and a few months later, Isabella was off to Amherst, Mass.
When he and Whipple met face to face, Isabella felt an odd vibe.
“I’ve always been good at reading body language,” said Isabella. “I could tell the way he looked at me he was thinking he made a mistake.
“He was probably thinking, ‘This guy will be a practice squad player.’ ”
Whipple’s recollection of that first meeting isn’t as vivid, but admitted he wasn’t sure what he had in Isabella, other than he was fast — very fast.
“I’m telling you the same thing I told 10 NFL scouts the last few days,” said Whipple. “He’s as fast as any guy in the country ... If Andy was 6 feet, we would have not got him. We’re glad he’s 5-9.”
NFL buzz is building around Isabella, who said he has not run a 40-yard dash in college. Isabella expects to run the 40 after this season in the 4.3-second range. There’s more to Isabella than just speed.
The last two seasons, he has posted 127 receptions for 1,798 yards and 18 touchdowns. Last season as a junior was a breakout as Isabella has 65 receptions for 1,020 yards and 11 TDs.
He’s done it against some of the nation’s best. In the 2016 opener, he burned Florida’s secondary for 95 yards on three receptions. It was a game-changing moment for Isabella, who said: “That’s when I believed I could play at this level.”
In 2017, he had 158 yards on seven receptions and a TD against Mississippi State, then seven for 84 yards and a score vs. BYU.
Those numbers, said Isabella and confirmed by Whipple, aren’t just a product of speed. It’s a combination of that speed and hard work transforming himself from running back recruit to a polished and reliable receiver.
“He was one of the five hardest workers I’ve ever coached,” said Whipple, who’s been around as a head coach or assistant since 1980.
Isabella said the drive to push himself is part of his make-up, but it’s also to prove to his college coach taking a chance on him wasn’t a mistake.
“I was kind of lost during recruiting with no offers,” he said. “Coach Whipple answered my prayer. He’s been a great influence, a good coach and a really good friend.”
UMass hasn’t had a ton of success the last two seasons with records of 2-10 and 4-8. Isabella is determined to help get the program to at least .500, and competing for a bowl spot.
He carries that motivation to the football field, always plays with a chip, and remembers how far he’s come.
“When I got to UMass, I had zero technique. None,” said Isabella. “I was fast, but I didn’t really know how to run routes.”
That’s all in the past. Many factors have contributed to that, but perhaps none more important than a 60-meter dash and 6.72 seconds in January 2015.
“It’s crazy to think how that one race changed a lot of things,” said Isabella. “People were always saying, ‘Be persistent, always believe.’ Somehow, I found my way in the door.”