It was one of those “Christmas in July” moments.
The topic?
Oswego East defensive end Zach Morrisroe.
Last month, the name of the 6-foot-3, 255-pound senior came up on a hot sunny day at West Aurora’s Ormond Stadium as several hundred players performed drills requiring strength and agility in the 24th annual Big Butts competition for linemen.
The mere mention of Morrisroe had the eyes of Patrick Molinari, who is the defensive line coach for the Wolves, lighting up like those of an unjaded 5-year-old standing in line for his annual conference with the big guy in the red suit at the mall — hello Santa.
Work that would begin with the start of preseason camp a few weeks later definitely had Coach Mo, as he’s known around school, geeked. An energy guy himself, Molinari also assists with varsity boys basketball in the winter and JV girls soccer in the spring.
“Zach’s got the most explosiveness of anyone I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach,” Molinari said of Morrisroe. “There’s no other kid I’ve had that, when he comes on and hits the (blocking) sled, it’s different. His hands hit the sled and it’s like a hammer.
“Some kids will hit the sled and as they hit it they’ll go like ‘Ohh.’ Not Zach. Zach fires out, and it’s like, ‘whomp!’ I’m glad I’m not playing.”
The assessment is later repeated to Morrisroe, who simply shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin.
“This offseason I definitely focused way more in the weight room than I did last year,” Morrisroe said. “That was definitely a must, getting stronger.”
It was a difficult offseason for Morrisroe and his family — mom Heather and older sister Zoe — after his father, Robert, died in December.
“It was out of nowhere,” Zach said.
He stayed focus in the classroom, however, after playing exclusively on the strong side at defensive end last season at 230.
“It’s mostly muscle,” he said of his additional weight. “I felt it couldn’t hurt, but I didn’t want to sacrifice speed to get bigger.”
Morrisroe, who in early July received his first college offer from Cornell of the Ivy League, also added sessions with personal trainer Hector Mendoza of Plainfield “to work on speed and athleticism.”
He improved his diet, too.
“Coach Mo helped, giving me a lot of recipe stuff,” Morrisroe said. “One that helped me the most was a smoothie recipe he posted. I’d have one or two a day.”
The ingredients?
“Peanut butter, yogurt, spinach, milk,” Morrisroe said. “I put in strawberries and blueberries. I wasn’t a fan of greens but the spinach was good, probably the key thing that helped me the most.”
He figures to see plenty of double duty this fall, likely slated for time at left tackle for an offensive line that coach Tyson LeBlanc has to rebuild. Oswego East (3-6) graduated five senior starters from last year’s team that didn’t make the playoffs after seven straight postseason appearances.
“I’m confident on the O-line because I did it freshman and sophomore years,” Morrisroe said. “I’m confident in my teammates, too. We’re only getting better.”
On the opposite side of Morrisroe will be Blaise Chin, a 6-2, 225-pound defensive end/outside linebacker.
“They will be our featured seniors this year, without question,” Molinari said, noting both players are athletic and explosive.
Morrisroe plans to be more of a leader this season, too.
“I’m definitely more vocal than last year, when I wanted to seniors to lead their team,” he said. “Now, it’s my team, so I’m trying to do the best job I can.”
Molinari, who called Morrisroe a “rare kid,” said it shows.
“That’s why I think Cornell is a start,” Molinari said. “But I think there’s going to be many more schools interested in him — a lot more to come.”
