Oct. 7, 2009
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
Click here to sign-up to receive the Knights Insider via email
There are times now when Billy Giovanetti leaves the UCF locker room after games at Bright House Networks Stadium and his mind immediately takes him on a trip back down memory lane.
Giovanetti, you see, used to be one of the kids waiting outside the locker room, hoping for something, anything from the UCF athletes he had admired so much. Now that he's one of those players, he makes sure to greet the kids, slap them high fives and spend time with them when possible.
Giovanetti gets his love for UCF naturally. His father, Bill Giovanetti, is a 2000 inductee of the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame. Bill was a starting linebacker on the program's first team in 1979 despite being just 17 years old at the time. He started all 37 games he played in and led the team in tackles in three of his four seasons. He still holds the school record for tackles in a game (23) and his 429 stops ranks second in school history.
Long after his Bill's playing days were over, the family had UCF season tickets. That meant Billy and older brother Nick were always there at the games at both the Citrus Bowl and now Bright House Networks Stadium. Both Giovanetti boys are on the UCF football team now - Billy a starting fullback and Nick as a reserve defensive back.
``Every single game, every year I was there back then,'' Billy said of his UCF memories. ``It's kind of like a shock to me, but it's cool to be one of the players now. To think that the younger kids really want to get to know you or say, `hi.' It's special to me because I used to be that kid.''
Billy Giovanetti also has the kind of story that any little kid could look to and draw inspiration. He made the squad as a walk-on, defying the odds that non-scholarship players often face. And he did it despite being (barely) 5-foot-11 and (maybe) 225 pounds.
He is, in some ways, UCF's version of ``Rudy.'' He's the 5-foot-nothing, overachiever who grew up loving the program and worked extremely hard to carve out a niche in the program. Working to get noticed, working to get a spot on the field in the offense and kick return teams is like a dream come true for Giovanetti.
Coming out of high school, there was one other scholarship offer from a small school in New York, but Giovanetti never seriously considered it. After all, it was his destiny to play for the Knights.
``I had that one other offer, but I knew that I wanted to play football at UCF,'' he said. ``I felt all along that I could come out here and earn a spot with my work ethic. It was a lot of work, but it's been a great experience.''
Giovanetti has played in all five games so far, leading the way for tailback Brynn Harvey to run for 536 yards and six touchdowns in five games. Giovanetti has carried the ball once for two yards, and has caught two passes for 12 yards. He had to sweat out a referee's replay in last Saturday's defeat of Memphis when he fumbled the ball along the sideline as he was fighting for more yards. UCF retained the ball when Giovanetti touched the loose ball as he was touching the sideline.
UCF coach George O'Leary made the decision before the season to award Giovanetti a scholarship because of the hustle and dedication he showed to the team as a redshirt freshman last season. And Giovanetti earned his way onto the field with his hard-nosed play, catching O'Leary's eye. The coach thinks players such as Giovanetti serve as motivation to the rest of the team because of his willingness to devote himself completely to the football team.
``I look at walk-ons and try to give them a fair shake. I've scholarshiped a bunch of them who deserve it,'' O'Leary said. ``I put Billy on scholarship because he runs with the (offensive) package and he does a great job on kickoff returns as one of the blockers back there.
``I just think that's incentive for the rest of the kids when they see what Billy's done,'' O'Leary continued. ``You want to give it to some kid who deserves it. You want to help the kid out and help their families out if they deserve it. He deserves it.''
Giovanetti had the UCF bloodlines coming into the program, but he had to work extra hard to get noticed as a non-scholarship player. Giovanetti knew his odds of ever earning a scholarship were long, but he overcame them with his desire and willingness to do anything asked of him.
``It's a lot of work and you have to show great effort every day. You have to do whatever you can to get noticed with your hitting and speed,'' Giovanetti said. ``To me, it's an effort thing. You have to show them that you deserve a scholarship or that you deserve to be on the field. To be playing on this level is a dream come true for me, but I've had to work for it.''
Giovanetti grew up dreaming about playing for UCF and dreamed of walking out of that Knights locker room someday. Now, he is truly proof that dreams do come true.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.