Whether a devoted member of the Brady bandwagon or a Big Blue-booster, every Brunonian will have at least one player to root for on the football field this Sunday.
Not even a year after marching through the Van Wickle gates, Zak DeOssie '07 will take to the field as a long snapper for the New York Giants, who face off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
DeOssie, an All-American who just months ago was captain of Brown's football team, was chosen by the Giants in the fourth round of the National Football League draft as a linebacker last April. Mostly expected to warm the bench until he further developed his talent, DeOssie was thrust into a starting position when long snapper Ryan Kuehl injured his calf in training camp. Sporting jersey number 51, he squats and hurls the football 15 yards into the hand of Jeff Feagles, the Giants' punter.
"It's been an incredible ride," DeOssie said in a telephone interview. "My dream has always been to play in the NFL, and here I am doing it in the greatest show on earth."
DeOssie, who is in Arizona preparing for the big game, said he will proudly represent his alma mater on Sunday. "It's a pleasure to be out here representing Brown University and the Brown football program," he said.
Phil Estes, Brown's head football coach, favorably recalled DeOssie's years with the team. "He was one of the best football players we've ever had in the linebacker position and that I've ever coached as well," Estes said. "He was a guy that could make plays behind the line of scrimmage and was just terrific downfield as well."
Estes, who has seen his players go to the National Football League before, said he is very excited for DeOssie. "Just to make the NFL when you're up against all odds... was a dream come true," Estes said. "Here's a chance to make history."
Number 51 is not the first DeOssie to have played on the Giants. His father, Steve DeOssie P'07, was both a linebacker and long snapper for the Giants - and rival Patriots - during his 12-year NFL career. But despite his split allegiances, the NFL veteran said he knows whose name he'll be shouting Sunday.
"I'm definitely rooting for my son to win the Super Bowl," said Steve DeOssie, who hoisted the Lombardi Trophy himself in 1991. "I'd love to have him have the same experience I did in winning the Super Bowl - it's the pinnacle of any football career, and the chance to be a world champ is something I would love my son to experience."
As Steve DeOssie watches his son follow in his footsteps toward the biggest stage in football, he said he has experienced something new himself.
"I was never nervous anytime I stepped on the football field," he said. "But I get nervous when he gets out there, wanting him to do well."
Zak DeOssie, a native of Andover, Mass., will be playing against the team he supported and idolized throughout his childhood. But his connections to the Patriots run deeper than just rooting for them on Sundays. He attended Phillips Andover Academy with Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick's daughter and was a ball boy for the Patriots in their 2001 Super Bowl victory. He said he's still "a big fan" of Boston's other professional sports teams: the Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins.
"All that gets put aside for this weekend," his father said.
Steve DeOssie said the NFL was not originally a priority for the recent Brown alum. "He had opportunities to go to some bigger football schools, but he wanted an education first. Coming out of Phillips Andover and then going to Brown, it was obvious from his selection that education was of primary importance," he said. "Of course, any kid that plays football would dream of going to the NFL, but he also was smart enough to know the NFL was an extreme long shot for any kid growing up. He always had his priorities correct - he wanted to get an education, and if something else happened along the way, that was great, too."
Both Estes and the elder DeOssie attribute the long snapper's success to his work ethic and competitive spirit. "What got him to the NFL and what got him to Brown and what allowed him to graduate is the same thing that makes him successful in the NFL - he's as hardworking a young man as you will find," said the proud father. "He welcomes the opportunity to compete, and that's what made him a great player in college and that's what makes him successful in the NFL."
Jose Yearwood '08, a teammate of Zak DeOssie's while he was at Brown, echoed that sentiment. "He was one of the hardest working people I've ever been around. I think in all my years of working with him, I don't think I've ever seen him lose his strength," Yearwood said. "He was a very, very competitive dude, and he really went all out for his teammates."
Yearwood said he has enjoyed watching his friend succeed in the NFL this year. "It's been nothing short of amazing," he said. "It's kind of surreal watching him compete against the best."
The stakes and level of competition are higher now, but Steve DeOssie said the drive to succeed is the same. "The pressure, in any football game - at any level, really - comes from not wanting to let your teammates down," he said. "You work so hard for so long and then when it comes down to it, the biggest concern is not the TV, and it's not the coaches - it's not wanting to let your teammates down."
Though the collective Brown spotlight will be on the recent alum, Zak DeOssie may spot another Bear on the opposite side of the field this weekend. Bill O'Brien '92, who played and coached football at Brown, will stand on the sidelines Sunday as an offensive assistant coach for the Patriots.
"Its really a no-lose situation for us," Estes said. "Whoever wins, we're having a Brown grad getting the Super Bowl ring."
Estes, who grew up in New England, said he would root for both Zak DeOssie and the Patriots this weekend. "I would love to see Zak upset the Patriots and get that Super Bowl ring," he said. "But at the same time, I can't be happier either way."l
Zak DeOssie didn't share any of Estes' ambivalence.
"I've got nothing but respect for the Pats," he said. "But I want to go out there and kick their asses."
