University of Connecticut Athletics
Getting to Know New OL Coach Frank Giufre
3/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. - Since he was the age of four, Frank Giufre has been fascinated with martial arts - so much to the point that after graduating from Syracuse University, he had a decision to make about his future.
After the two-time letter winner graduated from Syracuse, he realized the NFL would not be an option. The former offensive lineman for the Orange had two passions - football and martial arts - with a deep love and knowledge for each.
During his days as a college student, Giufre was heavily influenced by Hanshi Greg Tearney, a chief instructor of the self-defense technique who trained football players at Syracuse a couple times a week during the offseason.
A lifelong student of martial arts, Giufre had the choice to pursue a similar path as Tearney by opening his own training facility or even continuing to compete across the country. Had it not been for a sudden football opportunity, it could have been a reality.
"The opportunity presented itself to coach for a season at Christian Brothers Academy, my high school, in Syracuse as an offensive line coach," said Giufre. "It was there I got bit with the coaching bug. I wound up at the University of Miami as a graduate assistant and from there, it steamrolled."
Though it seems impossible to imagine it now, Giufre admitted that had he not started a coaching career in football, he would likely be out in California teaching martial arts.
It also means he might not have met his future wife, Jessica, considering they met during his time at the University of Miami in the early 2000s.
"If I wasn't a coach, my whole life would be flipped upside down," said Giufre. "If it wasn't with football or martial arts, I don't know what I would be doing...I'm doing what I'm doing, that's all I can say."
Hired as the offensive line coach for UConn football on Jan. 26, Giufre's unique path to Storrs has included experience with FCS football, high-level FBS football and most recently the NFL - having spent six seasons as Offensive Quality Control Coach, with offensive line responsibilities, for the Indianapolis Colts.
With help from solid professional references such as Chuck Pagano and Bruce Arians, Giufre found himself with a position under head coach Randy Edsall for the first time in his career. No previous relationship existed between the two, only a similar school and work ethic.
"The only thing I knew about Coach (Edsall) was that he played at Syracuse, he played there like me," said Giufre. "It's been everything I thought it would be. You can see he does things the right way and that he works hard."
Anything that Giufre knew about UConn before arriving to campus was supplemented from his time with the Colts. Darius Butler and Donald Thomas, a pair of Husky alums, were frequently overheard talking about UConn and their positive college experiences.
We are guessing you didn't know OL Coach Frank Giufre is into martial arts. Learn more about that here!#UConnNation
STORY:https://t.co/jThF2YwoAv pic.twitter.com/TCMFAfWITB-- UConn Football (@UConnFootball) March 22, 2018
"Darius (Butler) sat behind me in every team meeting in my six years in Indy....He would always come in sporting his UConn gear after a win," said Giufre. "I heard about UConn from being in the same room as Donald Thomas for a couple years. He was another proud alum...when I got here, I saw it was a pretty neat place."
From 2004-06, Giufre was the offensive line coach at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, but he never made it up to the UConn campus - only a couple games at Rentschler Field. His interview with Edsall and the coaching staff was his first time in Storrs.
Despite arriving just two months ago, he has hit the ground running in spring practice - getting to know each member of the offensive line and finding ways for the young group to improve each day.
"You have to take things day-by-day, meeting-by-meeting and practice-by-practice. We just need to continue to strive every day to improve," said Giufre. "It's our job to keep the quarterback clean and upright and give the backs a hole to run through."
He added, "The guys also need to enjoy themselves because it's a grimy position. Nobody knows when you do something right or wrong. Unless you have played the position, you don't know what's going on...we're just trying to get better each day."
Giufre stressed the receptiveness of each offensive linemen to this point in meetings and practice, emphasizing a "nickel" approach, as opposed to "five pennies." Cohesion, built through trust, will be crucial.
"It's about everyone on that offensive line. The guards need to know what the tackles are thinking, and the centers have to know what the guards are thinking," said Giufre.
Redshirt junior Matt Peart and sophomore Ryan Van Demark are expected to be two key contributors on the line this season, but Giufre stressed the whole, rather than individuals, in his approach to the spring.
Coaching was in the back of Giufre's mind for a long time, recalling stories told to him in his youth by his father, who coached as a graduate assistant at Idaho State in the 1970s. When the opportunity came up after graduating, he immediately jumped at it.
"I've been blessed to be around some really good coaches. The guys I played for at Syracuse - Paul Pasqualoni, George DeLeone and Steve Addazio - were excellent," said Giufre, who also mentioned Arians, Pagano, Harold Goodwin and Joe Philbin, among others.
"I think you take bits and pieces from everybody and fit it somehow into your scheme. We're constantly evolving at the offensive line position and we can constantly do things better."
Prior to the Colts, he spent five seasons at the University of Maine as the run game coordinator, offensive line coach and tight ends coach. His three seasons at Sacred Heart came before his tenure in Orono, Me.
When it comes to memories for a lifetime, however, it is hard to beat 2001.
After one season coaching high school football at Christian Brothers Academy, Giufre pursued a graduate degree at Miami - serving as a grad assistant during one of the program's most successful runs.
Giufre can still remember where he stood on the field at the Rose Bowl the night when the Hurricanes beat Nebraska, 37-14, for the 2001 National Championship. He remembers the game vividly, as well as the scene beforehand.
"I remember being in the locker room before the game and seeing Shaquille O'Neal walk in. They gave him a sideline jacket, the kind guys wear over their pads. He put it on and the sleeves came a little past his elbows," said Giufre.
He recalls the special opportunity to be a part of that Miami team, which saw 17 players be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft over the ensuing five seasons. Giufre would later coach Andre Johnson and Frank Gore, two members of that team, with the Colts.
"Seeing those guys (Johnson and Gore) as freshmen, sophomores and juniors in college and getting to work with them in the NFL was phenomenal," said Giufre. "I have special relationships with those guys, coaches and people from Miami."
Martial arts is still a big part of Giufre's life, as his sons, James and Dominic, both are currently involved in training.
His journey now continues at UConn, as the next chapter begins for the man who very easily could have chosen a different career path all together 18 years ago.
Though it seemed like a decision at the time, the two paths have met on many occasions.
"Football is like life; you get knocked down, you pick yourself up and dust yourself off. Martial arts is the same way," said Giufre. "It takes mental and physical toughness. They are synergistic and work off each other."
