Former UNT Player Vizza Joins UTSA Staff

Harry · July 24, 2014

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Vizza on staff: Former Alamo Heights quarterback Giovanni Vizza joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/colleges/article/Ranking-prompts-call-for-humility-5642574.php

Marty · July 24, 2014

Meh.

Green P1 · July 24, 2014

Quitter

JRock · July 24, 2014

Good for him.

Mean Green 93-98 · July 24, 2014

Weird. He could have been one of the all-time great UNT QBs. But I find it hard to think of him as anything other than a quitter now, no offense intended. He just doesn't seem to have the kind of mentality, leadership, or commitment needed for coaching.

emmitt01 · July 24, 2014

Weird. He could have been one of the all-time great UNT QBs. But I find it hard to think of him as anything other than a quitter now, no offense intended. He just doesn't seem to have the kind of mentality, leadership, or commitment needed for coaching.

Yeah, anyone who would jump off the S.S. Dodge is clearly crazy

greenit · July 24, 2014

Dodge'd

Censored by Laurie · July 24, 2014

Weird. He could have been one of the all-time great UNT QBs. But I find it hard to think of him as anything other than a quitter now, no offense intended. He just doesn't seem to have the kind of mentality, leadership, or commitment needed for coaching.

He was asked to be a 6'1", 185lb fullback.

oldguystudent · July 24, 2014

Weird. He could have been one of the all-time great UNT QBs. But I find it hard to think of him as anything other than a quitter now, no offense intended. He just doesn't seem to have the kind of mentality, leadership, or commitment needed for coaching.

I don't think he was perfect. I think he lacked the experience of facing real challenges in high school. I think his dad might've been a wee bit too active in, um, opining on things.

That said, Riley was going to start in 2009 come hell or high water. Joe Montana could've found the fountain of youth and four years of eligibility, applied to play at UNT, and Riley was going to start. Period.

Mo Green · July 24, 2014

Oldguystudent is right. I felt his dad had feelings that Gio was too good to be on a team struggling like we were after talking to him on the deck. My feelings were that the dad pushed him to do what he did when he was here.

His dad latter dropped his wife too . Therefore, if things don't go as planned just dump it.

So, he just was over the top in his demands and feelings. That's just my thoughts.

untjim1995 · July 24, 2014

Vizza was very talented, no doubt. But, mentally, I wouldn't want him coaching my kid--when the going got tough, he quit the team and basically quit the sport. Riley, for all his faults, was never a quitter. Even after his dad got fired, Riley gave it all on the field, while never publically disparaging anyone at UNT about the handling of the situation. Heck, he even went to McNeese State just to finish out his career. Vizza left to go to A&M, where he never even made the team, IIRC. Oh well--water under the bridge now.

GrandGreen · July 24, 2014

Vizza's departure was bizarre, but when he played he played very hard. He was a very tough football player which make his departure more mystifying. i don't think he would run away from competition not even from the coach's son.

greenjoe · July 24, 2014

I would like to hear from this now mature 25 year old as to what happened and why he quit. Without his thoughts being filtered through his father. Bad offensive line ? Poor coaching ? The feeling that Riley would be the starter no matter what ?

Beat Texas

Beat UTSA

GO MEAN GREEN

untjim1995 · July 24, 2014

I would like to hear from this now mature 25 year old as to what happened and why he quit. Without his thoughts being filtered through his father. Bad offensive line ? Poor coaching ? The feeling that Riley would be the starter no matter what ?

Beat Texas

Beat UTSA

GO MEAN GREEN

I don't blame him for being beaten down after experiencing what he did in his time here. He was beaten to a pulp by a system that focused on everything but linemen. Sure, that offense got lots of numbers between the 20s and in games where we weren't even in it. But when we needed to move the chains or score in the red zone while the game was competitive (usually in the first quarter), having weak offensive linemen play just got the QB killed. Vizza was physically as tough as anyone who has played that position at UNT, but mentally, he was a pampered kid from Alamo Heights with what appears to be a dad who bordered on being a helicopter parent. Playing at Fouts, in the SBC, with Todd Dodge's HS system in play, and having Riley waiting in the wings would have been too much for anyone with his background to overcome.

Edited July 24, 2014 by untjim1995

Mean Green 93-98 · July 24, 2014

Yeah, anyone who would jump off the S.S. Dodge is clearly crazy

I didn't say he was crazy. I said he was a quitter. Maybe he's wasn't crazy enough to not be a quitter, but he was still a quitter.

Mean Green 93-98 · July 24, 2014

I would like to hear from this now mature 25 year old as to what happened and why he quit. Without his thoughts being filtered through his father. Bad offensive line ? Poor coaching ? The feeling that Riley would be the starter no matter what ?

Beat Texas

Beat UTSA

GO MEAN GREEN

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/college_sports/college_football/article/Ex-Heights-QB-Vizza-tossed-football-and-scored-817823.php

NorthTexan95 · July 24, 2014

When I think of Vizza I always have good memories of him lighting things up offensively. Him leaving was really disappointing but I tend to blame Todd Dodge more than Vizza.

Jason Howeth · July 24, 2014

Literally everything I wanted to say has been said. Crap.

Except I'll say this. I'm glad (as I'm sure we all are) that we have moved past the Dodge/Fouts/Really bad days of NT football.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Jason Howeth

Travis · July 24, 2014

I liked watching Vizza as a player. I thought he showed some great things while very young. I wonder what kind of player he would have been in his senior year.

There was tons of drama during Dodge's years. I think that can happen when you lose like we did. Everything just sucks more when you lose. The suck losing contributed, i am sure, to the drama in the program. Sometimes, it is easy to put up with each others stuff when you see and feel success.

Army of Dad · July 24, 2014

Literally everything I wanted to say has been said. Crap.

Except I'll say this. I'm glad (as I'm sure we all are) that we have moved past the Dodge/Fouts/Really bad days of NT football.

Have we?

Jason Howeth · July 24, 2014

Have we?

I won't deny that there will be dog days ahead in the future, but my thought is that as long a Mac is here, he'll at least have me always believing that we're one step away from where we want to be.

oldguystudent · July 24, 2014

Have we?

I don't even. 6-37 vs 18-19. Fouts vs. Apogee. ESPN Bottom Ten TWENTY SEVEN TIMES vs. top 60 pre-season ranking. UL-Monroe vs. Rice.

I know you've got some serious beefs with RV and have a stronger dislike for Benford than I ever did for Dodge (and brother, I detested that guy), but there is not a single factor about football that hasn't improved since Dodge got out of Dodge and the fine people at Grey Goose started salivating at the commission checks from new Denton distribution to a certain household on the hill in Unicorn Lake.

untjim1995 · July 24, 2014

I don't even. 6-37 vs 18-19. Fouts vs. Apogee. ESPN Bottom Ten TWENTY SEVEN TIMES vs. top 60 pre-season ranking. UL-Monroe vs. Rice.

I know you've got some serious beefs with RV and have a stronger dislike for Benford than I ever did for Dodge (and brother, I detested that guy), but there is not a single factor about football that hasn't improved since Dodge got out of Dodge and the fine people at Grey Goose started salivating at the commission checks from new Denton distribution to a certain household on the hill in Unicorn Lake.

This.

Bowl win in front of at least 35k Mean Green fans, whipping conference champion Rice on national TV at home (Apogee), and giving Georgia all they could handle in Athens with Coach Mac vs best season under Dodge was 2-10, lost just about every way imaginable and possible in his 3+ years here, and lost to Rice 77-20 (and they called off the dogs that day or it would've easily been 100+ to 20), while getting prison-raped against all AQ opponents, and our games in Denton were played at Fouts, the biggest toilet of a stadium in the entire country for FBS level football. Yes, RV has been the AD the whoe time, and yes he hired Shanice Stephens, Todd Dodge, and Bumford, so that is a connecting point to everything between then and now. But Oldguy is dead-on. This place is light years ahead of where it was at the end of the 2010 season.

Army of Dad · July 24, 2014

I don't even. 6-37 vs 18-19. Fouts vs. Apogee. ESPN Bottom Ten TWENTY SEVEN TIMES vs. top 60 pre-season ranking. UL-Monroe vs. Rice.

I know you've got some serious beefs with RV and have a stronger dislike for Benford than I ever did for Dodge (and brother, I detested that guy), but there is not a single factor about football that hasn't improved since Dodge got out of Dodge and the fine people at Grey Goose started salivating at the commission checks from new Denton distribution to a certain household on the hill in Unicorn Lake.

I was really referring to the deep emotional scarring of the fan base and not the results on the field.