Before Dominick Giudice’s sophomore season, then-Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh approached him with a proposition.
Despite the fact that Giudice had only played defensive line for the Wolverines and some offensive tackle in high school prior to that, Harbaugh wanted Giudice to try center. Although it wasn’t what he was used to, Giudice wasn’t opposed to the idea.
“I was a little surprised, honestly,” Giudice said Tuesday of the proposal. “I like playing defensive line, but I thought it would be a great opportunity for me because, obviously, Coach Harbaugh has made decisions with other players like that before, and it’s worked out. … Obviously I thought about it for a little bit, but I thought it was something that would work out for me, and clearly it has.”
Having started all four of Michigan’s games at center as a senior this season — albeit while splitting time with senior Greg Crippen — Giudice’s position change has in fact worked out like Harbaugh thought it might. And while there’s certainly been a lot for Giudice to learn, he also credits his background for helping him get to where he’s at.
To start, Giudice’s time as a D-lineman helped him better understand how opposing defensive fronts want to attack him. That, combined with the physicality and toughness that he developed playing on defense, gave him a leg up in his eyes.
His background also helped him in a less tangible sense. Born and raised in an Italian-American family in New Jersey, Giudice got more than just the affectionate nickname “Dommy Mutz” — derived from the fresh mozzarella he always brought as a snack to school — from his childhood. His roots have helped him communicate with his teammates, too.
“I mean, communication-wise, I’m an Italian kid from New Jersey, so I’ve always talked a lot,” Giudice said with a smile. “I like talking, so that’s helped me a little bit to earn the trust of some guys. Just being a talkative guy, being personable, I think that’s helped me.”
Fighting for a spot on an offensive line filled with new starters, that willingness to always communicate has helped Giudice mesh with his teammates on a unit that requires five guys to play as one. He might not be saying the same things on the field as he’s saying off of it, but that chattiness translates whether he’s talking about his favorite Italian dish or a blocking assignment.
Thus far, that’s helped him gain an edge on Crippen in the ongoing position battle. Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore is noncommittal about naming a full-time starter at center, but Giudice has played more snaps than Crippen and started each game. And even as the battle continues to rage on, Giudice is focused on making a case for himself each day, no matter when it might end.
“We’re the University of Michigan,” Giudice said. “Competition is what we strive for, right? We say all the time, pressure is a privilege. So at any point of the season, whoever’s playing better, that’s going to be the person who plays in the game, and we don’t shy away from that at all.”
Giudice attests to himself and Crippen pushing each other, both in practice and in games. When one exits the game, they remain focused, studying what the other is doing from the sideline in case they go back in. And while Giudice says there are plenty of motivating factors to perform well in practice, having another player breathing down his neck helps him strive to meet the Wolverines’ standard of O-line play each day.
Whether it’s knowledge from his background as a defensive lineman, communication skills from his Italian-American roots or motivation from his ongoing position battle with Crippen, Guidice has found ways to ease his transition to center and even earn himself a starting spot. Just three years removed from making the switch in the first place, that’s a pretty good indicator that accepting Harbaugh’s proposition worked out.
The post ‘Dommy Mutz’ bringing old experiences to new position amid ongoing battle at center appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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