QUICK BIO
First season at Delaware...90-42 (.682) overall in his 12th season as a head coach...owns mark of 52-19 (.732) in league play...named Delaware's 23rd head coach - and just the sixth full-time head coach since World War II - in December, 2016...led Liberty to record of 47-20 and four Big South championships in 2006-11...guided Richmond to five-year mark of 43-22 in 2012-16, a tenure that included three straight NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014-16...native of Huntingdon, Pa. who played collegiately at Penn State (1979-81) and Wake Forest (1982-83)...earned degree in speech communication and rhetoric from Wake Forest in 1984...wife, Julie; son, David; and daughter, Amy....David is the wide receivers coach at NCAA FCS member Western Illinois.
University of Delaware Athletics
This is How We Train #9: Head Coach Danny Rocco
8/30/2017 7:13:00 AM | Football
Welcome to the ninth and final installment of This is How I/We Train.
Every Tuesday and Thursday during the preseason we featured a member of the Blue Hen football team and learned a little more about what motivates them to excel.
This week, our series moves to Wednesday and features new Delaware head coach Danny Rocco as he prepares the Blue Hens for the season opener Aug. 31 vs. downstate foe Delaware State.
Wrapping Up the Preseason: "I felt as if our football team improved as we got deeper and deeper into camp. I really felt that we had some moments late in camp that we were really starting to look like a really good football team. I believe we are right where we need to be. As a coach, you always would like to be maybe a little further along in some areas, but to be honest, this is about where I thought we'd be as we wrap up camp."
It's About Us: "I mentioned to our team most of this week that this game, since it is our first game together, is really more about us. It's about our execution, our unity, and our ability to rise up in the moments when we need to rise up and make a play. My history and tradition with Delaware State is not real deep. My first real recollection of Delaware State was in 2007 when they played Delaware here in the playoffs. I was head coach at Liberty at the time and we had won the conference championship and we didn't get into the playoffs. I realized at that moment that they must be pretty good because they were in the playoffs and we were sitting at home."
In the Moment: "I am excited, I am purposeful, and I am focused. I enjoy the moment. I enjoy the moment of running out of the tunnel and taking the field as opposed to the anticipation. I am looking forward to being in those moments. But until we are in those moments, there is a lot of work to do. One of my messages to the team is that game day preparation goes right up until kickoff. There is always something you need to be doing to be your best and be prepared when you are in those moments. I am looking forward to kicking it off Thursday night."
Ready for Anything: "There isn't much data out there about our opponent right now. We have some ideas about where they will be different from what they were a year ago. But there is no real video out there to validate exactly what they are going to line up in and what plays they are going to feature. We are going to have to defend some unscouted plays. Defensively we might feel like we have a little better understanding of what we might see, but with this being an opening game, that might change in a heartbeat. Our ability to adjust in-game will be important and our ability to communicate in-game will be important."
Previous Installments:
Charles Bell - LB (Aug. 1)
Brody Kern - C (Aug. 3)
Bilal Nichols - DT (Aug. 8)
Thomas Jefferson - RB (Aug. 10)
Troy Reeder - LB (Aug. 15)
Jake Trump - OT (Aug. 17)
Blaine Woodson - DT (Aug. 22)
Kyle Yocum - TE/FB (Aug. 24)
