Coach Steve Azzanesi named offensive coordinator at Delaware State
Steve Azzanesi is a jump-around, smiling, enthusiastic personality type, and he remains that guy whether coaching college football or girls’ U8 lacrosse. Steve is 45 but looks like the new guy who has been around for a long time. You might be old school if you remember Steve starting his career as an on-air sports reporter for WBOC.
In February 2020, after serving 18 years on the football staff at Wesley College – 16 of those under legendary coach Mike Drass – Steve moved over to Delaware State to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Steve was an all-state quarterback in high school, playing for Joe Hemphill, and led St. Elizabeth to a Division II state championship in 1994. In 1998 as the starting quarterback at Wesley, Steve was selected as the All-American Collegiate Football Conference first-team quarterback and was captain of the baseball team.
So why jump the comfort of the cocoon, the Wolverines, a Division III powerhouse, for the challenge of leveling up the Hornets of Delaware State who play in the talent-laden MEAC and are part of the football championship subdivision formerly known as 1AA football?
“I thought it was a great opportunity to join coach [Rod] Milstead at Delaware State University. I admire coach Milstead's vision of what he wants to create at his alma mater and the passion he exudes to create that vision into reality,” Steve said. “Coach Milstead and I met a year ago in the spring of 2019. We were both attending the same NFL pro day to support our players that were testing for the NFL scouts. Coach Milstead and I had a great conversation, and I remember telling my wife, Margaux, that coach Milstead is going to get it going at DSU! It wasn't like he was trying to recruit me to come work at DSU, and I wasn't trying to get a new job; it was just two guys talking and enjoying the interaction. Then, we both focused on preparing for the 2019 season.
“After the season, sometime in January, the offensive coordinator position opened up. I called a friend of mine that was on the coaching staff at DSU whom I had coached with a couple years earlier, coach Jeff Braxton,” said Steve. “After speaking with him, I was really intrigued about the vision of the program, so I applied for the offensive coordinator position. I feel fortunate to be part of a dynamic team of coaches and players.”
Coach Azz, as his players know him, wore many hats over his tenure at Wesley, but at Delaware State, it will be football all day and all night long.
“I enjoyed wearing many hats at Wesley College, like serving as associate athletic director, fundraising, teaching and academic advising, but I am looking forward to pouring all of my energy into developing Delaware State's offense, recruiting and helping our players earn their degrees,” Steve said.
Steve lives in Milford with his wife, Margaux Fischer, and their three children: Luke, 13, Paul, 11, and Marin, 8.
Margaux is the daughter of Rick Fischer, whose twin brother is Bobby, who is married to Linda Marshall Fischer, the daughter of Capt. Rowland and the late Marian Marshall of Lewes Beach. The Fischer boys owned the fish plant on Cape Henlopen Drive; you have to go off-road for all stories featuring downstate personalities.
“We got married in 2003 and just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary,” Steve said. “This year for our anniversary, we picked up takeout from Mama Maria's, and the kids set up a table outside on our front porch. Then, they got dressed up to be our servers. We even got a post-dinner comedy show from the boys, and our daughter brought Alexa outside and sang ‘Frozen 2’ songs to us. Best anniversary dinner ever!”
Coach Jeff Savage, a member of the Delaware State Athletics Hall of Fame, has said many people have no idea about all the great things going on at Delaware State. Coach Azz echoes his thoughts.
“I was very impressed with the new weight room the first time I saw it in March. It is state-of-the-art and has everything that a championship team needs to be successful. I was out on the field before everything shut down, and the turf looked really good. I can't wait to get out there with the team,” he said.
Coach Azz fielded the inevitable question about his offensive philosophy and system, which falls between “no huddle wide open” and “ground and pound.”
“The very first task at our first offensive coaching staff meeting was to evaluate our current roster to identify our strengths and weaknesses. One belief we always had at Wesley College was to play to our strengths. So the system doesn't change, but what you emphasize year to year changes to try and put our players in the best schemes to be successful. We currently have three QBs on our roster, and we have two freshmen coming this fall. I have been working with the three upperclassmen since I arrived in March and I am very, very impressed with all three young men. They are Tylik Bethea, Jared Lewis and Jabari Blake. All three guys take their academics very seriously, prepare for our QB meetings and are really picking up our offense quickly.”
Cancellation of spring practice has meant that Steve looks at players on film instead of live on the practice field.
“They are all the real deal,” he said. “I am getting fired up just imagining how good these guys can be with their approach to getting better and their natural abilities. We have been trying to find a way to win since campus is closed. We hold virtual quarterback meetings and simulate taking snaps and going through our progressions by setting up a virtual defense in my backyard.”
Coach Azz has also taken an innovative approach to practice.
“I ordered 11 garbage cans from Home Depot and painted the DBs yellow, LBs orange and the defensive line gray. Then, I set up different defensive looks with the trash cans. Next, I give Luke, Paul and Marin a route to run in the pass concept we are working on that day. Then, the QBs, who can see all of this through a camera hooked to my laptop, will say the formation and play out loud as I signal the play to them.
“There are speakers set up with the laptop so we can hear the QBs. Then, they go through their cadence and the kids run their route when they say ‘hut.’ I take one of the trash cans away and play a defender. Based on what I do on defense, they will let me know who they would have thrown the ball to in their progression. It has worked really well because most people are visual learners and learn by doing. This drill allows them to get as close to real repetitions as possible considering I am located in Delaware, Tylik is in New York, Jared is in Maryland and Jabari is in Virginia.
“How many 8-year-old girls can say they spent their shelter-at-home time playing defensive end, giving college quarterbacks a give it or pull it on the zone read?” he joked.
Steve coached the U8 Delaware Diamonds in girls’ lacrosse. He continues to bounce and be positive.
“I think if you asked the U8 lacrosse girls, or any of the Milford Little League teams I coached or Wesley players, they would all say that I bring a ton of positive teaching and energy,” he said. “The strength coach at Wesley, Bernie Nowakowski, always says, ‘If you aren't on fire, then how do you expect them to burn?’ I think being positive with high energy comes naturally to me, but it also motivates players to perform. I am excited to get out on the field with the other coaches on our staff because they bring great energy and enthusiasm too.”
Coach Azz closed by saying what a bonus it is to work with Hornets Sports Information Director Dennis Jones, whom Steve called “a rock star in the world of SIs.”
Steve will travel familiar territory to bring new talent to the Hornets lineup.
“I will be recruiting New Jersey. I am excited about the opportunity to recruit the same territory that I have had for the last 18 years. I have been fortunate to build a lot of great relationships with high school coaches over that time period. We hit some home runs in New Jersey over the years at Wesley with current NFL player Matt Gono and QB Joe Callahan, who has been with seven NFL teams over the last four years. I am also excited about coach Milstead's commitment to Delaware high school players. If there is an FCS player in Delaware, coach Milstead wants him to be a Hornet. The philosophy of recruiting Delaware first is exactly how coach Mike Drass, late head coach at Wesley, approached recruiting. The ability to offer a young man a full athletic scholarship has been new for me, because at the Division III level there are no athletic scholarships. The impact that a full athletic scholarship can have on their lives is pretty powerful. To earn a four-year degree opens up many career opportunities, and to achieve that debt-free is awesome.”
Delaware State is scheduled to open the 2020 season Sept. 5 hosting the University of Albany. The Hornets will close the season playing at the University of Delaware Nov. 21.
