When Matt Brescio was moved to linebacker prior to this season, he took it well.
“I was ready to go out there and hit people,” the Hamilton West senior said.
Which is probably better than people hitting him as a quarterback.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s the best way to put it.”
Switching Brescio to a full-time defender was the missing piece for football coach Mike “The Meatball Master” Papero’s linebacking corps, which he calls his best since having twin brothers Chris and Chase Cronce and Tolu Adeaga (a current West assistant) in 2019. Brescio is in the middle, flanked by Brandon Boswell and Christian Eagleton.
“It’s as good a group as any I’ve seen in the county,” Papero said after Hamilton’s 2-2 start. “They’re physical, they know the game, they work well off of each other. You’re not getting hit by just one of them. Where there’s one, there’s two or three.
“Matt was the one we were kind of looking for to round out this group. We have a little of everything with them. Brandon is a little better in coverage. Christian is great off the edge and Matt is that reliable guy in the middle. They all complement each other very well and that makes it tough on opposing offenses.”
Steve Gazdek, son of the late former Hornets coach of the same name, heads up the linebackers under defensive coordinator Tom Dolina. They work in tandem with D-line coach John Law and his crew of Shawn Blakely, Colby Muni, Ahmed Nafai, Brody Hunt and Daniel Figueroa who, unfortunately, is out for the season.
The down linemen have occupied spaces and allowed the ‘backers to roam free and attack the quarterback, which is something West did very little of last season.
“We’ve been getting a lot of pressure from the inside,” Papero said. “A lot of it is because of Matt. Some of the blitzes we have we work with him and the defensive tackles. We’ve been trying to mix things up and put pressure on quarterbacks to make plays. He’s a big part of getting into the quarterback’s face and making him make bad throws or get rid of the ball a little quicker than they’d like to.”
At times he even gets to the quarterback, as witnessed by Brescio’s 2.5 sacks through four games (he missed several games after that with a hamstring injury).
“We’ve been doing pretty good at that,” Brescio said. “Obviously we’re gonna keep working at it. We have some things to work on when it comes to getting to the quarterback. But it’s definitely an improvement from last year and the year before. I’m seeing it from me and my teammates.”
Although his main function is to put pressure on the QB, Brescio will drop back on occasion.
“I wouldn’t say I don’t play coverage,” he said. “I can play coverage but I’m more a run stop and up the gut guy. I’d rather blitz than be in coverage.”
Brescio began football in Hamilton Pop Warner at age 7. He started as a center but before his career was over he played defensive end, quarterback, linebacker, running back and wide receiver.
Asked his preference, Matt said, “just playing the game, anything I could do to help the team and have fun. I love football. It’s great.”
In ninth grade he quarterbacked the Hornets freshman team and was moved up to varsity late in the season so he got the opportunity to practice against the varsity defense.
As a sophomore, Brescio played outside linebacker with 17 tackles, and quarterback, where he completed 12 of 24 passes for 116 yards, two TDS and two interceptions. He was the starting quarterback entering last season but struggled through four games and was replaced by Cullen Bressler. He did not play defense at all.
This year, West’s coaches saw Brescio’s defensive potential and told him he would not be going back to QB.
“He handled it like a professional, he handled it with class,” Papero said. “There was no change in his attitude, no change in his work ethic. He kept showing up every day doing the best he could; just being a great teammate and great leader, which we expect from him.”
Instead of sulking, Brescio worked harder.
“We’re not very surprised, we know what type of athlete he is, what type of person he is, what type of football player he is,” Papero said. “Anything he does he gives 100 percent. He was our star in the off-season in the weightroom, he came in as good a shape as anybody we have.”
Putting Brescio at middle linebacker paid sharp dividends. Through four games he led the team in sacks and was second to Eagleton in tackles with 24. His presence helped improve one of Hamilton’s biggest problems. West recorded just 10 sacks all of last year and had nine entering game 5 this season.
“He’s a thumper in the middle,” Papero said. “He’ll have to drop back into coverage sometimes but he’s somebody who just mans the middle. He does a great job blitzing, with timing up his blitz, finding the lanes to kind of squeeze through the line.
“In the run game, it’s tough for a lineman to try to come out and block him on the second level. He’s so strong and he’s got good quickness. He’s one of those old school, all-around, athletic, physical middle linebackers.
“He’s tough to block. He blitzes really well. He’s strong, he’s athletic, he does what he’s coached to do. He just has that physical talent, the mental discipline. And he’s somebody that will do anything we ask him. (His success) is not a great surprise. We knew how good he could be.”
Brescio’s athleticism allowed him to move from outside to the middle with no problem. The only difference was he did, in a way, return to quarterback as he is the defensive signal caller.
“The biggest difference is all the play calling,” he said. “Knowing what everyone’s assignment is, knowing what everyone is doing, what the reads are”
Brescio still needs to know some of the offense as he has been lined up at tight end and also in the backfield on occasion this season. He plays special teams and is a long snapper. Papero feels he can play any position except maybe cornerback.
“When you talk about somebody who is willing and able to do everything for his team on the football field I can’t think of anybody better than Matt,” Papero said. “We’re all proud of him.”
The compliments paid to Brescio are flattering, but he is the first to admit the things he has done have been aided by the play of Boswell and Eagleton.
“I’m very confident in the two of them, they’re like my brothers,” he said. “We go out there and wreak havoc. I tell them what to do, when they’re going, when they’re staying back. I’m very confident in them as players and I know they have my back as well.”
It seems like most of the Hornets have each other’s back this season, as they won as many games in September as they did all of last year.
“It’s a different kind of feeling,” said Brescio, who is uncertain about his plans for next year. “Just more confidence, more positivity at practice. It’s completely different than anything I’ve experienced at the high school level.
“I’m having a great time out there. I’m just happy to be out there with my teammates. We’re doing a pretty good job on defense and hopefully we can keep it up, keep flying around. It’s all about having a good time.”
And there is no better time to be had than playing well and winning games.
