Addazio talks about coaching under Pasqualoni

Temple's Steve Addazio and UConn's Paul Pasqualoni meet this weekend in a Big East match up that pits Addazio with the coach that helped him get his start in the college ranks. Addazio worked under Pasqualoni at both Western Connecticut and Syracuse.

“Obviously Coach P started me in this business. I wouldn’t be where I am right now without him. It begins and ends right there. He taught me how to be a football coach." Addazio explained during a conference call yesterday.

“At WestConn, I could tell you stories, just crazy stuff. We all slept in the office. You are cutting old 16 millimeter film...you have strips of film hanging on the walls." Addazio said of their time together at Western Connecticut.

"Coach P has this makeshift wall. We're all on the other side of the wall and go to sleep there going, ‘Night guys, Night, coach.’ It was like something out of The Waltons." 

“That is how we all started washing socks and jocks. I came back from my wedding, and coach is on a tractor. I am on my hands and knees putting irrigation down to water the field. You just can’t make this stuff up. He is the best there is, and I just have the greatest amount of respect for him.”

While Addazio reminisced for a brief period during the league teleconference yesterday, him and his staff have had their hands full this season. In his second season at Temple, Addazio and the staff have had to prepare 17 first time starters, third most in the country behind Air Force (19) and Hawaii (18).

Temple (2-2, 1-0) will square with UConn (3-3, 0-1) off at 1pm ET on ESPN3.