Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Carmen Bricillo joining NFL’s New England Patriots
By BRIAN DZENIS
The New England Patriots have added another piece from Youngstown State.
Penguins offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo is heading to the NFL as an assistant offensive line coach, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. He had been with YSU for the past nine seasons.
He joins former Penguin players Derek Rivers and Damoun Patterson in New England. The Mahoning Valley connections with the Patriots don’t end there as Cardinal Mooney and Ohio State graduate John Simon suited up for the Patriots as they won their sixth Super Bowl on Feb. 3, beating the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3. Simon is set to become a free agent in March.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s father, Steve, grew up in Struthers.
YSU athletic director Ron Strollo said he could neither confirm nor deny that Bricillo had left for the NFL. Head coach Bo Pelini did not return a call for comment on the matter. In his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday, he was asked if he had spoken with Rivers and Patterson following the Super Bowl. Pelini said no, but said he took a phone call from Belichick on Wednesday morning, but did not provide specifics on what the call was about. The Patriots did not respond to requests for comment.
Bricillo joined the Penguins as part of former head coach Eric Wolford’s staff in 2010. He spent one season with Illinois and three with Akron before coming to Youngstown. During his tenure, YSU passed for at least 2,000 yards each season and cleared 2,000 yards rushing in all but one year. In 2018, guard Gavin Wiggins was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection with center Vitas Hrynkiewicz taking second-team honors. Running back Tevin McCaster ran for a career-high 1,235 yards.
ONE MORE YEAR
Defensive end Justus Reed is receiving a sixth year of eligibility via a medical redshirt, the team confirmed Monday afternoon.
Reed tore his Achilles’ tendon last July, weeks before fall camp was set to start and missed the entire season. He transferred to YSU from Florida after spending three years with the Gators, including one redshirt year. He appeared in seven games for the Penguins in 2017, collecting 15 tackles, including five sacks. He was limited by an arm injury that year.
Reed is the second player in program history to get a sixth year. Former wideout Jelani Berassa was with the Penguins from 2009 through 2014, collecting two medical redshirts from knee injuries he suffered during fall camp in 2010 and 2012.