Lakeside grad Colucci elevated to head football coach at Birmingham South

Dec. 25—It was about 10 years ago that Anthony Colucci found himself at a crossroads.

The 2010 Lakeside graduate and two-time Ashtabula County Lineman of the Year was nearing the end of his college football career at Capital University.

It had been a career cut short by a broken leg that redirected him from zone blocking to sitting in the press box helping his team from above.

By the time he was near graduation, however, football seemed to be finished, and Colucci's nursing degree earned at Capital would be his future.

That changed, though, when one of his coaches told him about an opening for an entry level coach at Centre College in Kentucky.

"He told me they had an opening for an entry level coach and he thought I'd be a good fit," Colucci said of the possibility.

Of course, taking the job at Centre would be a substantial pay cut from what he had planned on going into for a career.

"Entry level coaching for a small college is not exactly financially stable, especially when option A was to be a nurse" Colucci said with a laugh.

Colucci, who was recently elevated to head coach at Birmingham-Southern, decided to call home to have a conversation with his folks ... a conversation that probably any recent college graduate considering a career that pays far less than the one they went to school for, would be pretty nervous having.

"I called my mom and dad asking for advice," he said. "One of the best pieces of advice my dad told me was I could go and be a nurse and be a nurse for the rest of my life and that would be fine.

"But, you can try coaching and you never know what could come of it. If you don't like it, you don't like it, but at least you won't go the rest of your life wondering what would have happened."

Colucci took dad's advice and what has happened has been remarkable.

From an entry level assistant at Centre, Colucci, who had to work at a hospital on the weekends to make ends meet, went on to become the offensive coordinator at Birmingham Southern and last week was promoted to head coach.

"It's been an honor," he said of being named to the position. "I've been blessed to be in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people. That's a big part of college football, but it's an honor beyond belief."

Colucci may have been in the right place at the right time, but what makes his journey so incredible is that it was something he never really planned.

"To be honest, I never really had coaching on my radar. I had every intention of going into nursing," he said. "When I was playing at Capital, I figured I'd stay around the Columbus area and stay around the game if I could."

The plan was to start his nursing career and maybe volunteer as a coach for any program looking for a little help.

The broken leg injury changed his perspective, though.

"The cliche of 'when one door closes another one opens' was never more true," Colucci said. "After the injury, I spent a lot of time with the coaches. For practices and game days I was in the press box because I couldn't be on my feet.

"I kind of got to see what goes into a game from a schematic standpoint. As a player, I never thought about any of that, I just did what I was told. I got a taste of everything that goes into preparing a team for a game."

At Centre, Colucci worked with the tight ends for a year and a half, before taking over as the offensive line coach.

"That was a transition for me," he said of coaching the tight ends. "I'd been an offensive lineman all my life, now I had to learn and coach the passing game. But, it was good for my growth, it pushed me outside of my comfort zone and really helped me develop that side of the game."

From Centre, Colucci then moved on to Birmingham Southern. There, he doubled as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator.

In the 2021 season, the Panthers put up a record of 10-2 and the offense directed by Collucci set several school records.

He replaced Tony Joe White, who took over as head coach at Austin College in Texas, which is much closer to his home. White announced his decision to the team on Dec. 19.

The school moved quickly to make sure Colucci was not going with him.

"Within the hour, I got a phone call from the athletic director," Colucci said. "I went in and we had a good conversation. She had a plan and a vision of what the future would look like and they were pretty confident moving forward with me. That meant a lot to me."

Birmingham-Southern is a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA)

The move also means a lot to the people that knew the coach when he was growing up in Ashtabula.

Bill Lipps, an assistant at Conneaut in football, and the school's head baseball coach, was with Colucci for three years of his high school career, serving as his head coach his senior year.

"He was very cerebral," Lipps said. "We ran a no-huddle offense, which hardly anyone was doing back then. Some of the linemen struggled with picking up the signals, so we had to have a verbal signal and Anthony had to know everything.

"He verbalized everything. If he was off the field for any reason [and he seldom was], we were in trouble. His junior and senior year, I do not think he ever gave up a sack. He never had a holding penalty. I don't think he ever missed an assignment."

Lipps said he kept in contact with his player throughout his time at Capital and even offered him a little advice on the decision to go into coaching.

"I couldn't believe he was asking me," Lipps chuckled. "When he was at Centre, I think he was like the lowest paid coach there. He was working weekends in the emergency room at the hospital. But, I just told him 'Do what makes you happy.'"

Now as a head coach and just 30 years of age, the question for Colucci is: What's next?

Will he continue to advance amongst the college ranks to bigger and better programs.

Not necessarily.

His wife, Chelsea is from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Their son, Anthony James will be 2 in April. The coach is more than happy with where he is with his career, as well as his life in general.

"Back home everyone wants to know when you're going to coach at Ohio State," Colucci said with a laugh. "But, I've played at this level and I've coached at this level and I know the opportunity and the experience this level offers the athlete.

"It's' much more than just football. We have a roster full of guys that inspire to be doctors, engineers, lawyers. It's a kind of dynamic atmosphere and culture. I would have no problem coaching at this level for the rest of my life."