Football | After being named a preseason All-American, Tassinari returns for one last round
September 22Leon Modeste is old-fashioned. So old-fashioned, in fact, that when the 23-year Phillips Acadamy football coach attempted to find an accurate comparison for his former player, Tufts safety Tom Tassinari, the only name that came to mind was Gary Cooper, a film actor born in 1901 who was known for his emotionally restrained Western flicks. At the end of his movies, Cooper, a tall, lanky man, would stoically walk into the sunset, satisfied that he had saved the world one last time. Likewise, at the end of football games, Tassinari walks away quietly, seeking no pats on the back for an individual effort but rather content with the team win. Though this stoicism links the film legend and the football star, the similarities stop there. Cooper's film career ended in 1961. For Tassinari, his story begins on the fields of Andover, Mass. at age nine and continues through his years at Tufts. The last chapter in the "Book of Tassinari," however, has yet to be written. A senior quad-captain, Tassinari returns to the gridiron for one more season in what has already been one of the more prolific careers by a Jumbo safety in program history. He's been named First Team All-NESCAC for the past two years, and in 2008, he became the first Tufts player since 2005 to be selected to the New England Football Writers' All-New England team. Surely, that would be enough for most, but Tassinari is always hungry for more. For someone who was unsure about playing college football, he has certainly done well for himself. On July 28, Tassinari was named a D3football.com 2009 preseason All-American, the only defensive player from New England to make either the first or second team. The story of Tassinari can be traced back to Andover, where his mother was the treasurer for the in-town football league. While Tassinari began playing under his mom, he eventually worked his way up to Phillips-Andover. "He is just one of those kids who just kept coming and developing," Modeste said. "It's the whole package. He was just a monster his senior year … and never looked back. Tom was just great, one of those guys who just steps up." Modeste recalled one time in high school when Tassinari scored on the opening drive of a big game. While the entire sideline exploded in excitement, Tassinari, the "calmest person in the stadium," flipped the ball to the official, jogged back to the huddle and readied himself for the next defensive assignment. "Tom never said a word, but in the first minute of the game, he would stick somebody," Modeste said. "That's him in a nutshell. Tommy wasn't the guy who was all hyped up before the game. He just came out and did the right thing. He will cover the best guy or the worst guy, in zone or man."
