Time Flies
December 22, 2004 09:22 PM | General
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| Lorello |
Sometimes, time just flies when you are having fun. Ask junior defensive back Mike Lorello.
For Lorello, it seems like a week ago that he was making plays and helping Worthington Kilbourne High to victory. And, it seems just like yesterday that as a true freshman at West Virginia, he was playing the free and bandit safety positions and making his first career start at Rutgers.
Clearly, those were a couple of years ago, but that’s how it goes when you have fun and that’s what Lorello has been doing.
“It really has gone fast,” says Lorello. “It was a different situation for me because I didn’t redshirt as a freshman. Now I’m halfway through my junior year and it’s going fast. I’m just trying to make the best of it.”
Lorello saw the field as a true freshman in 2002 and became a regular in the lineup last fall. With a year’s worth of starting experience, he admits to being a much more confident player this season.
“I feel like I’m playing a bit more physical,” says Lorello. “I think I’m a lot less superstitious this year than I was last year. As you get older, it’s more about how you prepare during the week. If you’re ready to play, you’re ready to play.”
Lorello started every game as a sophomore at bandit safety, finishing second on the team with 13 tackles for losses and fifth in total tackles with 106. Last spring, he moved to spur.
“It’s a little different,” says Lorello, who received the 2004 Iron Mountaineer Award as the top performer in the winter workout program. “Last year I was kind of unblocked but this year I’m taking on a lot more blocks but the positions are pretty interchangeable. I can play both if the formation determines it.”
The position change has had little effect on Lorello as he is one of the leaders on the Mountaineer defense and he continues to make play after play. The Powell, Ohio, native is on the verge of cracking the Top 10 on WVU’s career tackles for loss list. He has 20 tackles for loss and needs just four more to move into the 10th spot. If he does, Lorello will be the first Mountaineer safety to reach the Top 10.
Lorello has been everywhere in recent games, making all kinds of plays on the Mountaineer defense.
At Connecticut, with West Virginia holding on to a slim 10-6 lead late in the third quarter, Lorello intercepted Dan Orlovsky and returned the pick 21 yards for a score. That gave the Mountaineers a 17-6 lead en route to a 31-19 win.
“That was being at the right place at the right time,” says Lorello, who picked off another pass in that game for his first-career multiple interception game. “It hit off the guy’s heel and bounced right to me. I got lucky. Everybody says it’s better to be lucky than good, sometimes. I’ll be the first to admit that I got lucky.”
Then, against Syracuse, Lorello got the ball rolling again for the Mountaineers.
With WVU leading 3-0 in the first quarter, SU attempted to tie the score but Lorello hurdled through the Orange line and blocked the field goal, the first Mountaineer block since 2002. Two plays later, West Virginia went up 10-0 and cruised to a 27-6 victory.
“On the first field goal, I came through and tripped on their legs,” says Lorello. “The next time, I jumped over them and came through clean.
“The big plays, sometimes you just get lucky. Other times you just keep making the fundamental plays, then you just get in the flow of things and it starts rolling.”
In addition to making big plays, Lorello has emerged as one of the defensive leaders. Last year that role was handled by seniors Lance Frazier, Brian King and Grant Wiley.
“I don’t know if you can replace them, but people just step into that role,” says Lorello. “We have a lot of leaders on defense this season. Pacman (Adam Jones) is pretty vocal back there and Ben Lynch has stepped up and been a great leader for us as well. Adam Lehnortt and Scott Gyorko are leaders, too. We have a lot and we all work together. I just try and do my part, too.”
Even though Lorello sets high expectations for himself, he’s not taking anything for granted.
“Obviously there’s always room for improvement,” says Lorello. “I don’t think I played near my potential in the last couple of games. I made a few mental mistakes. But at the same time, if I go out a make a couple of big plays, it balances out.”
Heading into the final month of the regular season, Lorello is a WVU fan favorite. He’s a talented athlete who’s smart and a hard worker who isn’t afraid to mix it up.
It is truly amazing that Lorello is close to wrapping up his third season as a Mountaineer. After all, time does fly when you are having fun.
Bryan Messerly is the associate sports information director in the WVU sports communications office.
