- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 35,576
- Name
- The Dude
Written by Jim Hague | For NJ Press Media
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 2307240049
[wrapimg=left]http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4681/501e8cd22f7cc66ae900000.jpg[/wrapimg]On December 1, 2006, when Travis Tripucka walked off the field at Giants Stadium with his Mountain Lakes teammates, after having lost in the NJSIAA North 1, Group I championship game to Bogota, he truly believed his football career was over.
After all, Tripucka had every reason to think that way. The three-sport Mountain Lakes standout and Boonton Township resident had already declared his intentions to play lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts.
“I thought it was a great way to go out,” Tripucka said. “I got to play at Giants Stadium. Sure, we lost, but it wasn’t a bad way to end it.”
Tripucka, who also played basketball and lacrosse at Mountain Lakes, was content with focusing on lacrosse at UMass. He knew he was never going to be the basketball player that his famous father, Kelly, was when he was an All-American at Notre Dame and an NBA All-Star with the Detroit Pistons. And he wasn’t going to be a football star like his grandfather, Frank, who was the first-ever quarterback of the Denver Broncos.
“I found my niche with lacrosse,” said Tripucka, whose younger brother, Jake, is a standout lacrosse player at Duke.
However, after his first semester at UMass, Tripucka was spotted fooling around as a long snapper by UMass academic advisor Lance Overby.
“He saw me doing it and approached me,” Tripucka said. “He told me that the football team was having trouble in their spring game because they didn’t have a long snapper and had no viable options. I honestly missed playing another sport, so I said, `Why not?’ I decided to give it a try.”
Tripucka met with then-UMass head coach Dan Brown and showed what he could do as a long snapper.
“He told me he had to get me on the roster,” Tripucka said. “I ended up winning the job outright.”
For the next four years, Tripucka was a two-sport athlete at a major college, playing both lacrosse and football at UMass.
“It was always a challenge and my schedule was always hectic,” Tripucka said. “I took it head on. There were always a lot of doubters who wondered whether I could do both. I would be at it all day. I would be out the door at 7 a.m., have a class at eight, have lacrosse practice, lift, then try to fit football in at night. Next day, I’d have to repeat it all again. It was crazy.”
The idea that Tripucka had become a college long snapper did not come as a surprise to the Mountain Lakes coaching staff.
“He was an outstanding snapper for us,” said Darrell Fusco, the current Mountain Lakes head coach who was the special teams coach when Tripucka was a member of the Herd. “He had tremendous work ethic. We expected him to be a basketball player, but lacrosse became his best sport. He was good football player who spent hours and hours working on being a long snapper.
Added Fusco, “When he went up to UMass, we talked about the opportunity of playing football. I told him if there was any way he could do both, he should try. He’s the type of kid who would do anything in his power to get something done. It’s not surprising, because of his work ethic.”
Tripucka managed to juggle both sports for four years at Amherst.
Incredibly, he gained a reputation as being a top-flight long snapper.
“The whole process was all new to me,” Tripucka said. “During my last season of football (last fall), I had a lot of coaches approach me and ask me if I thought I could do it on the next level. I didn’t think I was that good. Then, there were pro scouts who were all asking our coaches about me. I became a hot commodity.”
The San Diego Chargers showed some interest to the UMass coaching staff. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also paid a visit.
“It was all a surprise to me,” Tripucka said. “I didn’t want to get a little big headed.”
It also helped Tripucka that he had a father and grandfather who were big-time professional athletes.
“I definitely learned a lot by listening to them,” Tripucka said. “They told me not to get too ahead of myself and enjoy it.”
Tripucka hired an agent, Chad Wiestling, who handled his negotiations. He knew that he wasn’t going to get drafted, because NFL teams don’t usually waste draft picks on long snappers. But Wiestling knew the market for Tripucka.
“He wasn’t going to steer me around the block,” Tripucka said. “He’s a down-to-earth guy who I could trust. I knew that I had to go through free agency. I was prepared.”
On the last day of the NFL Draft in April, Tripucka received a call from Wiestling.
“He told me that he thought I was going to Florida to be with Tampa Bay,” Tripucka said.
A day later, everything changed.
John Fassel, the new special teams coach of the St. Louis Rams, called Tripucka and invited him to come to a tryout.
“Coach Fassel had coached Jon Condo (the long snapper of the Oakland Raiders) and he was selling me as the next Jon Condo,” Tripucka said. “I remember sitting on my couch, wondering where I was going to go, when my agent called me and said, ‘You’re going to be a St. Louis Ram.’ ”
Fassel, the son of former Giants head coach Jim Fassel, liked Tripucka’s athleticism.
“He’s a guy who is going to get a chance to compete,” Fassel said. “When you’re looking for a long snapper, you look for someone who can do the extra things, like run, tackle, get off blocks. No doubt about it, his lacrosse background helps with all the running he did. He’s naturally athletic. Playing lacrosse and football has been a benefit to him. He also doesn’t look robotic in his snapping.”
Tripucka signed a free agent contract with the Rams. On Tuesday, he left for St. Louis in preparation for the Rams’ training camp. Tripucka, who has already gone through rookie camp and the team’s organized team activities (OTAs) for six weeks, will be among the rookies for three days before the veterans arrive on Friday.
“I think I fit in well with the Rams,” Tripucka said. “Coach (Jeff) Fisher (hired to take over the Rams in the off-season) wants to have his own group. It’s great that I’m getting to know guys I’ve watched on television, like Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson and Chris Long, on a personal basis. It’s been unbelievable.”
Tripucka has also bulked up considerably to become an NFL prospect. He played at 215 pounds at UMass and now weighs 245.
“I’m right where I should be now,” Tripucka said. “I’m able to hold my own. I’ve been eating non-stop since December and I’ve bulked up a lot.”
It’s been a crazy road, but Tripucka is poised to make the most of the journey.
“The whole time I was out there in St. Louis, it couldn’t sink in,” Tripucka said. “I was putting on the Rams’ helmet, practicing with guys I admire and able to talk to them as teammates. I can’t believe it. It’s been an unbelievable journey that I wouldn’t change for a minute.”
If Tripucka makes the Rams’ roster as the long snapper, he would be the second NFL long snapper who hails from Morris County, joining Mike Leach, the Jefferson native who is the long snapper for the Arizona Cardinals.
“Mentally, I’m ready,” Tripucka said. “I have a one-way ticket to St. Louis. I’m not going out there to be sent home. I want that job.”
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 2307240049
[wrapimg=left]http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4681/501e8cd22f7cc66ae900000.jpg[/wrapimg]On December 1, 2006, when Travis Tripucka walked off the field at Giants Stadium with his Mountain Lakes teammates, after having lost in the NJSIAA North 1, Group I championship game to Bogota, he truly believed his football career was over.
After all, Tripucka had every reason to think that way. The three-sport Mountain Lakes standout and Boonton Township resident had already declared his intentions to play lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts.
“I thought it was a great way to go out,” Tripucka said. “I got to play at Giants Stadium. Sure, we lost, but it wasn’t a bad way to end it.”
Tripucka, who also played basketball and lacrosse at Mountain Lakes, was content with focusing on lacrosse at UMass. He knew he was never going to be the basketball player that his famous father, Kelly, was when he was an All-American at Notre Dame and an NBA All-Star with the Detroit Pistons. And he wasn’t going to be a football star like his grandfather, Frank, who was the first-ever quarterback of the Denver Broncos.
“I found my niche with lacrosse,” said Tripucka, whose younger brother, Jake, is a standout lacrosse player at Duke.
However, after his first semester at UMass, Tripucka was spotted fooling around as a long snapper by UMass academic advisor Lance Overby.
“He saw me doing it and approached me,” Tripucka said. “He told me that the football team was having trouble in their spring game because they didn’t have a long snapper and had no viable options. I honestly missed playing another sport, so I said, `Why not?’ I decided to give it a try.”
Tripucka met with then-UMass head coach Dan Brown and showed what he could do as a long snapper.
“He told me he had to get me on the roster,” Tripucka said. “I ended up winning the job outright.”
For the next four years, Tripucka was a two-sport athlete at a major college, playing both lacrosse and football at UMass.
“It was always a challenge and my schedule was always hectic,” Tripucka said. “I took it head on. There were always a lot of doubters who wondered whether I could do both. I would be at it all day. I would be out the door at 7 a.m., have a class at eight, have lacrosse practice, lift, then try to fit football in at night. Next day, I’d have to repeat it all again. It was crazy.”
The idea that Tripucka had become a college long snapper did not come as a surprise to the Mountain Lakes coaching staff.
“He was an outstanding snapper for us,” said Darrell Fusco, the current Mountain Lakes head coach who was the special teams coach when Tripucka was a member of the Herd. “He had tremendous work ethic. We expected him to be a basketball player, but lacrosse became his best sport. He was good football player who spent hours and hours working on being a long snapper.
Added Fusco, “When he went up to UMass, we talked about the opportunity of playing football. I told him if there was any way he could do both, he should try. He’s the type of kid who would do anything in his power to get something done. It’s not surprising, because of his work ethic.”
Tripucka managed to juggle both sports for four years at Amherst.
Incredibly, he gained a reputation as being a top-flight long snapper.
“The whole process was all new to me,” Tripucka said. “During my last season of football (last fall), I had a lot of coaches approach me and ask me if I thought I could do it on the next level. I didn’t think I was that good. Then, there were pro scouts who were all asking our coaches about me. I became a hot commodity.”
The San Diego Chargers showed some interest to the UMass coaching staff. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also paid a visit.
“It was all a surprise to me,” Tripucka said. “I didn’t want to get a little big headed.”
It also helped Tripucka that he had a father and grandfather who were big-time professional athletes.
“I definitely learned a lot by listening to them,” Tripucka said. “They told me not to get too ahead of myself and enjoy it.”
Tripucka hired an agent, Chad Wiestling, who handled his negotiations. He knew that he wasn’t going to get drafted, because NFL teams don’t usually waste draft picks on long snappers. But Wiestling knew the market for Tripucka.
“He wasn’t going to steer me around the block,” Tripucka said. “He’s a down-to-earth guy who I could trust. I knew that I had to go through free agency. I was prepared.”
On the last day of the NFL Draft in April, Tripucka received a call from Wiestling.
“He told me that he thought I was going to Florida to be with Tampa Bay,” Tripucka said.
A day later, everything changed.
John Fassel, the new special teams coach of the St. Louis Rams, called Tripucka and invited him to come to a tryout.
“Coach Fassel had coached Jon Condo (the long snapper of the Oakland Raiders) and he was selling me as the next Jon Condo,” Tripucka said. “I remember sitting on my couch, wondering where I was going to go, when my agent called me and said, ‘You’re going to be a St. Louis Ram.’ ”
Fassel, the son of former Giants head coach Jim Fassel, liked Tripucka’s athleticism.
“He’s a guy who is going to get a chance to compete,” Fassel said. “When you’re looking for a long snapper, you look for someone who can do the extra things, like run, tackle, get off blocks. No doubt about it, his lacrosse background helps with all the running he did. He’s naturally athletic. Playing lacrosse and football has been a benefit to him. He also doesn’t look robotic in his snapping.”
Tripucka signed a free agent contract with the Rams. On Tuesday, he left for St. Louis in preparation for the Rams’ training camp. Tripucka, who has already gone through rookie camp and the team’s organized team activities (OTAs) for six weeks, will be among the rookies for three days before the veterans arrive on Friday.
“I think I fit in well with the Rams,” Tripucka said. “Coach (Jeff) Fisher (hired to take over the Rams in the off-season) wants to have his own group. It’s great that I’m getting to know guys I’ve watched on television, like Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson and Chris Long, on a personal basis. It’s been unbelievable.”
Tripucka has also bulked up considerably to become an NFL prospect. He played at 215 pounds at UMass and now weighs 245.
“I’m right where I should be now,” Tripucka said. “I’m able to hold my own. I’ve been eating non-stop since December and I’ve bulked up a lot.”
It’s been a crazy road, but Tripucka is poised to make the most of the journey.
“The whole time I was out there in St. Louis, it couldn’t sink in,” Tripucka said. “I was putting on the Rams’ helmet, practicing with guys I admire and able to talk to them as teammates. I can’t believe it. It’s been an unbelievable journey that I wouldn’t change for a minute.”
If Tripucka makes the Rams’ roster as the long snapper, he would be the second NFL long snapper who hails from Morris County, joining Mike Leach, the Jefferson native who is the long snapper for the Arizona Cardinals.
“Mentally, I’m ready,” Tripucka said. “I have a one-way ticket to St. Louis. I’m not going out there to be sent home. I want that job.”