After 2 years with no game action, DiNunzio-Biss emerging for IUP defense

Every football player in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference was in the same boat in 2020: no game action after the season was canceled because of the pandemic.

Then there was IUP’s Drew DiNunzio-Biss.

DiNunzio-Biss came to IUP in 2019 after starring at Kiski Area and spent that season as a redshirt. That meant he went two years without playing in a game.

Sure, he was able to learn coach Paul Tortorella’s system, lift weights and go through all the practices, but it was hardly the same as playing. So when football returned as usual in 2021, there was plenty of rust to shed.

“It was kind of crazy,” the redshirt sophomore said. “I had to readjust to the speed of the game because my last game experience was high school. And everybody who plays college football knows the speed of the game greatly increases. It took me a little bit of time to readjust to that after those couple years off.”

Last season, DiNunzio-Biss played in all 10 games, accumulating 33 total tackles. Now, with a much-needed year of game experience, he is beginning to take off. Through IUP’s first three games — the Crimson Hawks are 3-0, 1-0 in the PSAC — DiNunzio-Biss already has 24, including 3.5 for loss .

“If we had to pick one guy out on our whole roster who has improved the most from his first season playing to this season, it would be him,” Tortorella said. “He’s gotten a lot more physical and become a better athlete.

“At times, we were worried about him in space. But he’s done a great job with open-field tackling. He’s done a great job in pass coverage. He’s a good blitzer. He has really upped his game.”

DiNunzio-Biss said his confidence has grown with each game. He also has grown, he said, in his understanding of how to play the college game.

At Kiski Area, he could freelance and try to make as many plays as possible. At IUP, in contrast, he has learned to stick to his assignment and not try to do too much.

“Coach Torts preaches to us, just do our job,” DiNunzio-Biss said. “In high school, it’s see ball, get ball. You’re just running all over the field trying to make all the plays you can. In college, you’re one of 11 guys on defense, and if one guy doesn’t do his job, it can screw up a whole defense.

“Once I understood what I needed to do, I could just play fast and just react. … I’m developing confidence in knowing where I need to be and reacting to what’s in front of me and not overthinking it.”

Tortorella admitted it sounds unusual, but he has encouraged DiNunzio-Biss to start becoming more of a leader for the defense. Even though he’s only a sophomore by NCAA eligibility standards, he is in his fourth year with the IUP program, so he has plenty of seasoning.

Secondly, Tortorella said his defense is relatively young. So, unlike most years, there’s plenty of room for someone of DiNunzio-Biss’ ilk to take on more responsibility.

“It’s hard for me to tell a sophomore to be more of a leader when there’s a million seniors out there,” Tortorella said. “But we really only play four seniors on our whole defense, so a younger player can take over a leadership role because we’re a fairly young team.”

Despite the youth on defense, there are big expectations for the Crimson Hawks. They were picked as co-favorites to win the PSAC West along with Slippery Rock.

DiNunzio-Biss is embracing that prediction, and as he has grown more comfortable and confident after two years away from games, he said he can see the same confidence growing in the team.

“We have a good foundation with each other,” he said. “We know how each other play, and we’re starting to build chemistry. We all understand the standard here at IUP, and we all look forward to the challenge each week to live up to that standard.”