Staff Connections Helping Greg Gasparato Settle Into New Role at Louisville

(Photo of Greg Gasparato via Appalachian State Athletics)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The process to get Greg Gasparato on campus at Louisville as the next next safeties coach was a quick one. Head coach Scott Satterfield offered him the position on a Wednesday, he accepted on a Friday, flew in two days later where he met his players for the first time, then the second week of spring practice started that Monday.

Under normal circumstances, a move this quick might be difficult to adjust to, especially one that is to a completely new atmosphere. But he's no stranger, as he has deep connections with both Satterfield and defensive coordinator and associate head coach Bryan Brown.

Gasparato got his first taste of major college football in 2013 when he was a graduate assistant at Appalachian State - the same year Satterfield took over the Mountaineers.

He returned to Boone, N.C. in 2018, where he was the safeties coach for two seasons before joining Army in 2020. During that first year coaching the back end for App State, he operated under defensive coordinator Bryan Brown, before he left to take the same position at Louisville with Satterfield in 2019.

Not only did the connections with the two highest-ranking coaches on campus play a vital role in him coming to Louisville, but the familiarity with the scheme in which they run helps with the acclimation to the program. Especially considering the similarities between it and the one he ran in his lone season with the Black Knights.

"Just kind of having that familiarity last year, the defense we were in, it was the same structure same call system, a lot of the same checks up at West Point," Gasparato said. "There is that familiarity, but there's the it's the nuances of the defense that everybody's kind of put their own little spin on it. That's the biggest thing."

Gasparato credits his relationship with Brown as not only something that has allowed him to adjust to his new home quickly, but one that also helped get the guys in the safeties room up to speed in what he teaches.

"He's been in this system for a long time, and he's unbelievably smart. He knows what he wants, and there's things that have been tweaked, and he knows why," Gasparato said." It's because it's helped us to take this defense to the next level. He's done a great job being patient and helping me understand the defense."

Over the course of his coaching career, Gasparato has developed into 'teacher of the game' type of coach. He teaches the guys in buckets and concepts to slow the game down, understanding where their help is, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, and specializing in formation recognition.

So far, it has worked wherever he goes. Under Gasparato's influence, the Black Knights had the top defense in the nation, allowing 275.3 yards per game, and were second in passing defense at 160.8 yards per game. Army was also second in the country in scoring defense at 14.8 points per game and finished ninth with 16 interceptions.

During the second year of his second stint with App State, the Mountaineers defense finished in the top 30 of nearly every major statistical rankings, including in defensive touchdowns scored, third-down conversion percentage, takeaways, interceptions, pass efficiency defense, scoring defense, yards allowed per play, total defense, fumble recoveries and touchdowns allowed.

During Louisville's spring practice, he was impressed with several guys. He noted that Kendrick Duncan and Lovie Jenkins both had high football IQs, while Benjamin Perry and Bralyn Oliver are both film room junkies.

His biggest task was getting his various players lined up in the right positions on the gridiron to be able to succeed, which he notes was made easier by the versatility of the safeties room. While there is still a lot of work to be done, there is still plenty of time between now and the start of next season, and Gasparato is taking it one day at a time.

"We got to make sure each day, we got to take something off the tape," he said. "Whatever that is, something that we can't make the same mistake. It can't be everything, but let's pick one thing for that day, and let's put it to bed. Let's get better and let's move on.

Louisville will kickoff the 2021 season against Ole Miss in the annual Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. on Monday, Sept. 6.

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