Aug. 15, 2007
The seventh in a daily series during fall camp, get to know true freshman, offensive lineman Leo Grassilli.
GoAztecs.com: What are your impressions of the first week of camp?
Grassilli: It's going really well. The coaches have thrown us in there and we're getting a lot of reps. The game is a lot faster, but I feel good about it.
GoAztecs.com: Is there anything specific your position coach has been working on with you?
Grassilli: They are throwing me in at center a lot, so I have to get the snap down.
GoAztecs.com: Did you play a lot of center in high school?
Grassilli: No, I played tackle and guard.
GoAztecs.com: Other than the snap, is there anything else you've really been working on with the position change?
Grassilli: There are a lot of calls that I have to make, which is a little different at this level of the game. I just have to get used to recognizing the defense and different shifts.
GoAztecs.com: Being from the east coast, what made you decide to come to San Diego State?
Grassilli: I happened to meet Coach Himebauch when I was out here in the summer and he's kept in touch ever since. Things just kind of grew from there and he asked me to come for an official visit.
GoAztecs.com: What will you miss most about Virginia?
Grassilli: Well, all of my family is back there, so I will definitely miss them. Also, I'm going to miss getting the chance to watch my little brother play football. He will be a freshman in high school this year.
GoAztecs.com: What are you looking forward to about starting classes?
Grassilli: I'm looking forward to meeting new people and being part of a new environment. I started taking classes this summer, but it's not exactly the same. In a couple weeks, all of the freshmen will be coming and there's just that excitement in the air with the first day of school when we all get to meet each other.
GoAztecs.com: Have you decided on a major yet?
Grassilli: Right now I have declared business administration as my major.
GoAztecs.com: What do you hope to accomplish with that degree?
Grassilli: I plan on graduating early and then finishing a master's degree. From there, I was thinking about corporate law, but I'm not really sure.
GoAztecs.com: Do you have a favorite high school moment that stands out in your mind?
Grassilli: My junior year we (Hylton High) were playing in the state semi-finals and we were down by two touchdowns with three minutes left in the game. We started to come back and unfortunately we ended up losing, but no one believed that we could come back and give the No. 1 team (Landstown High) such a hard time.
GoAztecs.com: Do you have a favorite sports team back east?
Grassilli: I lived in Philadelphia, so I would have to say the Eagles. Now that I am out here though, I'm going to have to start rooting for the Chargers.
GoAztecs.com: Who is the best player you went up against in high school?
Grassilli: Well, in that last game my junior year when we were playing Landstown in the state semi-finals, they had (wide receiver) Percy Harvin, the No. 1 recruit in the nation. He ended up going to Florida and he helped them to the national championship last year.
GoAztecs.com: How has it been adjusting to the workout regime here at SDSU?
Grassilli: Well, I had already sort of adjusted because some of us freshmen came in early July for the second session of summer school. When we did that, they cleared us to workout for the summer, so we slowly adjusted to the workouts. I came prepared, but it's still a long day and it is football camp so I expected to have to come in and work hard.