It is safe to say that the Cortland football team will look a little different this fall. The graduation of the winningest class in school history, and the departure of several members of the coaching staff have shaken up the program. One loss, however, won’t get talked about much, but will certainly be felt.
Lorenzo Wilkins has never played a down of organized football in his entire life. That, however, hasn’t stopped him from aspiring to coach at the division one level. Lorenzo has been a part of the Cortland football program for the past three years, working as a student manager. He most recently served as Head Student Assistant this past fall. Lorenzo’s responsibilities included everything from assisting the linebackers and special teams to developing call sheets and practice plans.
It is hard to find a member of the program that does not have something positive to say about Lorenzo. The most common thing that people will tell you about him is how hard-working he is. Lorenzo is being rewarded for that hard work, as he heads to West Point to join the Army football staff, as a coaching intern.
“I knew I needed an internship to graduate, I also knew I needed to gain hands-on experience if I wanted to coach at the division one level,” said Wilkins. Motivated to earn an opportunity, Lorenzo spent last summer emailing a majority of division one football. “I think the total ended up at 145 schools that I emailed, and I got ten responses out of that,” said Wilkins. Of those ten responses, there was only one school that ended up offering him a position, and that was West Point.
Army should be grateful that no other schools took a chance on Lorenzo. As he was essentially an extra coach here at Cortland, at least that’s how many of my teammates and I felt. “His dedication and passion for the game has made us players look at him not as a manager, but as a coach who genuinely cares about everyone’s development,” said junior defensive back, Frankie Ciaramitaro. “With his strong work ethic and leadership skills, there’s no doubt that he’s going to achieve great things at Army.”
Perhaps the group with the most to say about Lorenzo is the coaching staff, and rightfully so. Lorenzo worked alongside Steve Cushing during his time at Cortland. Coach Cushing served as defensive coordinator and linebacker’s coach, before leaving to become the Head Coach at Misericordia a few weeks ago. “Lorenzo is one of the hardest working people I know. He took on responsibility in all aspects of the program and gained our trust as coaches,” said Cushing. “He is not only a hard worker, but a great human being who cares for the people he works with.”
Lorenzo is quick to reciprocate, as he credits many of his fellow coaches and mentors for helping him get to where he is today. One person in particular is his friend, Domenic Isabell. “He was the guy that brought me in, and I owe a lot to him…he always allowed me to continue to grow,” said Wilkins. Isabell was the head student assistant for the 2023 National Championship team and is now a Defensive Graduate Assistant at Wagner College.
The impact that Isabell had on Lorenzo has trickled down, as Lorenzo has left his mark on his successors. “He’s the ultimate competitor. Being around him made me want to work ten times harder because I always felt like he was twenty steps ahead of everyone.” said the current Head Student Assistant, Harrison Sussman. “For the student assistants, he set a new standard for all of us.”
Chances are that most college football coaches have a dream job. One that they would drop everything for if the opportunity presented itself. Lorenzo on the other hand, does not have a specific destination in mind. “I would say my dream is to continue to grow as a person. I don’t know if I want to coach until I am dead. What I want to do is keep getting better and if I decide I want to leave this profession, I want to be able to reach a position that gives respect to all the work I have put in,” said Wilkins.
Although our time together was short, Lorenzo has helped me develop not only as a player but as a person. His willingness to learn and grow is contagious and I have applied it to all aspects of my life. I do not know what the future has in store for him, but I do know that his hard work and ambition will take him very far. I am going to miss my friend, but I am very excited to see what he will accomplish.