I got one shot in the game versus Florida and I made the most of it.” “The coaches obviously liked it, and I started getting more and more opportunities in practice. “All that work that I put in working out, it started showing,” Isabella said. Isabella’s hard work was apparent from the first day of camp, and he steadily ascended up the depth chart: In the summer leading up to his sophomore year, Isabella spent two hours a day working on his routes after his morning workout - he was determined to earn his role in the UMass offense. I was torching one of our corners, and our coach was like ‘All right, maybe we’ll just move you to receiver.’ I was actually going to redshirt my freshman year, but then after a couple weeks of practice on scout team, they needed a guy to play special teams.”

No one really wanted to play scout team, so I was taking reps at receiver. “When I got through camp, I realized they weren’t really going to play me at running back - we had a pretty good freshman running back.

“I actually came into UMass as a running back, not a lot people know that,” Isabella said. Isabella returned 17 kicks for 315 yards and totaled 35 yards from scrimmage in 2015. Isabella played in eight games as a freshman, mostly seeing the field on special teams. “I picked UMass literally two days before signing day.” “I wanted to go D-1, and I didn’t really want to do the Air Force thing,” Isabella explained. Isabella’s blazing 6.72-second 60-meter dash at the NEOITC Buckeye Meet sealed the deal, and Whipple offered him a scholarship. His fate would soon change when a coach at Cleveland Heights High School - whose son ran on Isabella’s track club - sent Isabella’s film over to then-University of Massachusetts head coach Mark Whipple. In fact, Isabella was a Division I state champion in the 100-yard dash as a senior.ĭespite his success, Isabella generated little interest during the recruiting process - receiving offers from only Air Force and FCS Lafayette. Before the 5-foot-10, 190 pound wide receiver became a consensus All-American, Isabella got his start at Mayfield High School in Mayfield, Ohio.Ī duel-sport star at Mayfield, Isabella not only excelled on the gridiron for the Wildcats - playing running back, wide receiver and cornerback - he was also an outstanding track athlete.

Andy isabella starting