Naperville Central center Matt Russo doesn’t mind that he toils in relative anonymity.
After all, the action literally begins with him. Play can’t start until he snaps the ball.
“It’s just such an awesome position because I get to touch the ball every play,” Russo said. “It’s a very important position, but I love doing it, and I love doing it for my brothers beside me, my teammates. I like to embrace it.”
The 5-foot-9, 235-pound Russo has been embraced by his teammates and is appreciated by his coaches.
“It’s awesome having a center like him,” senior quarterback Simon Hayes said after the Redhawks beat Metea Valley 36-29 on Friday. “We watched some clips before the game, and you see Matt laying his body on the line and diving to go make blocks.
“Having a center like that means the world to me. We were on the freshman B team together our freshman year, and for me and him to be starters on varsity now means the world. I love the kid so much.”
Russo didn’t play tackle football until his freshman year but soon found his niche.
“My coach put me at center because he saw that I could snap the ball a little bit,” he said. “I started on the sophomore team at center, and then I played a little bit of center last year, but I played a lot of right tackle too. This year, the center spot was open so went back to snapping the ball.”
Russo’s willingness to play anywhere he’s needed has impressed Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich.
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“Matt played right tackle for us for seven games last year,” Ulreich said. “He doesn’t look like a right tackle. One day, we needed a guy to rotate in at right tackle, and Matt jumped in, and he just plays as hard as he possibly can for every snap. It’s just the type of kid he is.”
Playing center isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes guts and intelligence and is a role heavy on responsibility and light on publicity.
“It’s definitely a lot of responsibility,” Russo said. “I would say presnap it’s the hardest position (on the offensive line), but after the snap it’s those tackles and my guards making those plays.”
Russo’s responsibilities include many tasks that often go unseen by people in the stands.
“Definitely calling out the fronts and making sure everyone knows what they’re doing presnap, calling out where people are supposed to go to block a linebacker, maybe what formation they’re in,” Russo said. “Also in a pass block setting, what kind of pass block we have to get into to have everyone accounted for.”
Ulreich has full confidence in Russo.
“He makes all the calls,” Ulreich said. “He calls the front. He calls all of our run calls. He’s awesome.”
Few statistics measure an offensive lineman’s effectiveness, but coaches know it when they see it.
“On Friday, we usually show some highlight plays from the game last week, just tough, gritty-type plays, not the highlights that are in the paper, but plays that are selfless and tough,” Ulreich said. “Matt Russo is putting his body on the line every single snap.
“He’s awesome. There’s not a better teammate on the planet than Matt Russo.”
Hayes concurred.
“I trust Matt so much,” Hayes said. “I know when we’re under center — pass pro, run — I know he’s going to get the job done.”
The Redhawks had four turnovers in the first half against Metea Valley but rallied three times from deficits, mainly on the strength of their running game.
“I had two interceptions this game,” said Hayes, who attempted only four passes in the second half. “I had some bad throws, and that’s on me, and I’ve got to be a lot better.
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“But a kid like Matt and the rest of the O-line, they really stepped up, and we ran the ball. Like our coach said, everyone in the stadium knows we’re going to run it, and there’s nothing they can do about it.”
Indeed, the Redhawks rushed 35 times for 257 yards, including senior running back Landon Nelson’s career-best 219 yards. Their final 10 plays were runs, capped by three kneel-downs by Hayes.
“It’s a testament to how hard those guys have worked in the offseason, and Matt Russo is Example A of that,” Ulreich said. “Matt is unbelievable.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.