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Football
10 Questions for Asst. Football Coach Mark Fabish
Feb. 11, 2008
Beginning February 11 and leading up to the Rams annual Spring Game on April 26, one member of the Rhode Island football coaching staff will participate in a 10 question 'Q & A' session for GoRhody.com. We'll kick things off this week with new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Mark Fabish, who joins the Rams coaching staff after spending the last 10 years at Monmouth. We sat down with coach Fabish just before National Signing Day (Wednesday, February 6). Following the announcement that 20 high school standouts and three transfers will be joining the program for the 2008 season, Rivals.com ranked the recruiting class No. 10 amongst FCS schools. Mark, talk a little bit about what the first six weeks have been like for you here at URI. "It's been quite a whirlwind, especially trying to get the recruiting process going from scratch. We had to build our recruiting board, get our visits set up, and get everyone going in the same direction. Once we did that, everything caught some steam and we feel we have put together a good recruiting class. We're hoping a lot of these kids can come in and compete right away." Following that thought, how difficult is it to get recruits onto campus for official an official visit or to commit this late in the signing period? "It was actually pretty easy. Much of what we did was trying to continue on relationships we had built, both with potential recruits and with high school coaches we've met through the years. Coach Rizzi did a great job of making himself visible and building relationships while he was at Rutgers. Myself, along with a few other coaches, were able to get into some other areas which we knew well and continue to cultivate those relationships. Many of the coaches we dealt with have a good trust level with us, and once we were able to target prospects, it wasn't very difficult getting them to campus. Our hosts did such a fantastic job showing the kids around and what URI athletes are all about. The amount of kids who committed on the spot was a lot higher than we thought it would be. It's a testament to coach Rizzi and to our kids."
As Recruiting Coordinator, talk about your role in the recruiting process. "I did a lot of behind-the-scenes work in setting up the visits. I set up the hotels, restaurant reservations and hosts, and I also handled the compliance side of things - not much of the glory stuff (laughs). Other than that, we all threw our hats in the ring when it came to recruiting and finding prospects. We all had a certain area which we were comfortable with, and we came back with film and transcripts and scouting reports. We sat in meetings for long, long hours and narrowed in on the top prospects we found." Talk about the traits you're looking for in a student-athlete. "We're looking for good, quality people. That's number one. If you can find a good, young man who is a strong athlete, the combination of those two things can really vault them to the level of player we're looking for. Then, if you can combine a quality person with a strong academic background and the athletic part of it, that's a prospect we're definitely interested in." What kind of impact do you think some of the incoming recruits can have on the field next season? "It's a little unfair to have high expectations of the recruits. They have to learn a new system and learn the speed at which college football is played. We hope they can come in and compete, but we're also still learning about the players we have here. I'm anxious to see them compete as we get going through winter workouts and spring practice. There's no one recruit who we look at and say `That's the kid who's going to come in and play,' but we hope we did a good job in targeting the right players so they are in position to come in and compete. A lot of that is going to be on them." Talk about your relationship with Coach Rizzi and how you landed here at URI. "I've known coach Rizzi since 1986. He was a football player at Bergen Catholic High School, and I had a friend whose brother was on the team, and we ended up being the ballboys and waterboys for them. He was someone I always looked to as a positive role model, and when I got into Bergen Catholic a few years later, one whose lofty standards I tried to attain. Through the years, he's been awesome to me in the coaching field. He's always looking out for me and letting me know when there were opportunities for me. I was flattered when he called me with this opportunity, and I didn't hesitate to jump on board." You were pretty successful at Monmouth. But again, once Darren called, was this a no-brainer for you? "It was difficult to leave because I had been there for so long. You grow roots when you've been somewhere for 10 years, and to uproot myself and head up here wasn't the easiest decision. But with Darren being the guy here asking, it made it a lot easier." What's been the most enjoyable part of this process, both living in Rhode Island and working at URI. "Just cultivating the relationships. The biggest part of this profession is the relationships with the coaches and the athletic department staff. Now that the students are back full-time, getting to know them and how fantastic they have been with me on the recruiting end of things has been fantastic." What's been the biggest adjustment for you, both personally and professionally? "It was just getting the recruiting process going from scratch. It usually starts in May, and we were literally eight months behind. To get it going on January 2 was a tall order, and we're really hoping to see the fruits of our labor on signing day." People have been clamoring for the offense to open up. What are you bringing with you from Monmouth and what are you looking to do? "Coach Pincince is going to be the one behind the steering wheel driving this thing, and it's going to be his offense. I'm just hope to bring a good energy and enthusiasm to the practice field every day, push them to work as hard as they possibly can, and maybe find a little bit more that they didn't think was there. Ultimately, I'm hoping to make game day fun and win a few games along the way." |
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