COLLEGE FOOTBALL: TIOGA'S ROSSI SIGNS LETTER-OF-INTENT TO PLAY AT SUNY BROCKPORT (2 PHOTOS) (2024-06-24)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER - Tioga senior Valentino Rossi felt like the football coaching staff at SUNY Brockport really wanted him to play for them, so Rossi decided that’s where he wanted to be.

Rossi signed his National Letter-of-Intent here recently during a ceremony in the middle school auditorium that featured 13 Tioga seniors signing to play at the next level in four different sports.

“The coaching staff was really welcoming, and I could really tell that they wanted me there because of the effort they put into recruiting me.

“The head coach came all the way to Lansing to watch us play basketball in the playoffs,” said Rossi. “That showed me how committed they were to getting me, and it made them my top choice.

“It just felt like I belonged there,” added Rossi, who also considered Cortland, Utica, and to a lesser extend a couple of other SUNY schools.

Tioga coach Nick Aiello believes Rossi could be a dominant player at the next level, but it will take some work.

“I think Valentino is kind of a steal for Division III, in terms of his size and athleticism.

“I think he’s just beginning to really mature in terms of his physical attributes,” said Aiello. “And mentally, that part of the game he’s going to need at the next level … this year, he really started to understand the game.

“It’s going to be a big learning curve for him, and it’s going to be a big curve in terms of the athletes he’s going to be going against, but I think he has the ability to be overpowering, especially at the D-III level,” added Aiello.

Aiello believes the biggest adjustment Rossi will face heading into the next level relates to the Xs and Os.

“I think the hard part for Valentino is going to be learning a college-level pass playbook, and not just the route he’s suppose to run, but how he’s suppose to run it, and recognizing what defense he’s seeing … and the communication that it takes between quarterbacks and receivers,” said Aiello. “I think that will be the hardest part.

“I think the physical part he’ll be able to figure out.

“His footwork and getting off the ball will take some time, but physically he is so gifted, and he’s so explosive as an athlete,” added Aiello.

Rossi knows he has work to do before stepping on the field at the next level.

“I’ll have to work on a lot of things, basically everything.

“I’ll definitely have to get a little bit heavier if I’m going to be able to push off the ball,” said Rossi. I’ll also need my footwork to get better.”

Rossi believes he could on the field as a freshman, but knows it won’t be easy.

“I have a chance to get on the field next year, but nothing is set in stone,” he said. “I’ll have to earn it, because nothing is going to be given to me.

Rossi is majoring in Sports Management … “I’d like to be either a market manager, or a sports agent,” he said.

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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga’s Valentino Rossi. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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