Greco tackles waiting for draft

By Joe Scalzo

The Boardman High graduate played left tackle for Toledo.

John Greco was just plugging along at the University of Toledo, going to class, going to practice, playing well in games, working toward his degree. He spent a lot more time thinking about being a restaurant manager than an NFL lineman.

“My main focusing was on graduating,” said Greco, a Boardman High graduate. “As the years went on, I realized I had the potential to do this for a career.

“I just kept developing, becoming more of a leader, understanding the game more. The game slowed down for me and I was having a lot of fun. I thought, ‘This can work.’ ”

Greco earned first team All-Mid-American Conference honors his junior and senior year at left tackle. He followed that up with solid performances at the NFL combine and Toledo’s pro day in February.

“I was really pleased with my results,” he said. “Since then, I’ve just been trying to stay in shape, relax and enjoy my off time.”

Greco (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) graduated with a degree in marketing and professional sales and wants to get into the restaurant industry once his playing career is over. He’s projected as either a right tackle or a guard in the NFL and has drawn comparisons with Patriots lineman Nick Kaczur.

Greco met with the New England Patriots a few weeks ago and the Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams also have scheduled visits.

“I’d obviously like to stay close to home so my friends and family can see me play, but wherever I go, they’ll support me,” he said. “They’ll be instant fans.”

Greco came out of Boardman as part of one of the most talented classes in the school’s history. Five players signed with Division I schools: quarterback Tom Zetts (who broke just about every passing record during a four-year career at YSU), tight end Mike Villagrana (West Virginia), kicker Andrew Good (West Virginia before a transfer to Ohio State) and center Kevin Tuminello (an all-conference lineman at Georgia Tech). That 2002 team finished 6-4 and missed the playoffs, mainly due to a season-ending injury to Zetts.

Greco graduated one year after lineman Steve Vallos, who was a year ahead of Greco and was drafted by the Seahawks out of Wake Forest last spring.

“Everyone spread out but we all kept in touch,” said Greco of his classmates. “At times I wish a couple of us had stayed together and went to the same place.

“I really had fun when I was there.”

Greco has also kept tabs on some of his former Mahoning Valley rivals such as Keilen Dykes (Chaney, West Virginia) and Mike McGlynn (Fitch, Pitt). He talked with Dykes at the East-West Shrine Game and talks to McGlynn often on the phone or via text message.

“We hung out at the combine and we’ve stayed pretty close,” Greco said of McGlynn. “It’s been fun putting faces to names every week.

“I can’t wait to meet some of these guys [at post-college events] and you find out they’re regular guys like you. It makes you feel good to hang out with them and see what they’re like.”

Things will get a little more nerve-wracking over the next few weeks for Greco as he waits and hopes for a good opportunity at the next level. He’s not sure where he’ll go, but he’s already got a plan for draft weekend.

“I’ll be in Youngstown,” he said. “I think my dad and I will play golf the first day [of the draft] and hopefully we’ll have something to celebrate the second day.”

scalzo@vindy.com