Football | 11/4/2020 1:21:00 PM

In this series, get to know members of Our Pack at Bloomsburg University. Learn about their path to becoming a Husky student-athlete and their plans after graduation - all while having a little fun along the way. Today, we introduce Tom Pellegrino (Washington Township, N.J./West Morris Central) from the football team.

Tom Pellegrino (Washington Township, N.J./West Morris Central), a junior defensive lineman, is a criminal justice major from Washington Township, New Jersey. Pellegrino has started all 22 games through his first two seasons and has totaled 53 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, and three-and-a-half sacks since joining the Huskies' roster. Last year, Pellegrino had at least one tackle in all 11 games and posted a career-high seven total stops in the season opener against Stonehill. He has been a two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar-Athlete and also earned D2 ADA Scholar-Athlete honors following the 2019-20 academic year.

Prior to attending Bloomsburg, Pellegrino attended West Morris Central High School where he was a First Team All-Freedom Red Division selection as a senior. He was also named to the New Jersey State Top 100 Football Athletes list. In the classroom, Pellgrino was a consistent member of the high honor roll throughout his high school career.
 

GET TO KNOW TOM
Q: When did you start playing football?
A: I started playing softball when I was five years old.

Q: What got you interested in football?
A: I liked the idea of running around and hitting people without getting in trouble for it. I also loved watching NFL games with my father.

Q: Did you have any sports role models when you were growing up? Why him or her?
A: The sports role models I had growing up were my father and James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers. My father was my coach for many years when I was playing and he, himself, was a football player. He taught me everything and I wanted to play with the mentality he instilled in me. I envied James Harrison because of his style of play and the fact that he wasn't the tallest to be a defensive lineman/outside linebacker. Similarly, I'm not very tall either so I patterned my play after him.

Q: How did you end up at Bloomsburg University? What attracted you to the school?
A: I ended up at Bloomsburg through a trainer of mine. I was struggling to find a place to play college football because nobody wanted to take a chance on me because of my size. My trainer, actually, previously played for Bloomsburg so he sent in some film of me playing to the coaching staff. The rest is history. I received a phone call the night my film was sent and the coaches took a chance on me. I fell in love with the campus and the style of play that has been a staple at Bloomsburg and it was especially reassuring to have a coaching staff that was hands-on with the players. It felt like a home away from home.

Q: What are your plans after you graduate?
A: I dream to be playing professional football after graduation and I will do my best to chase that. I would also like to pursue a career in federal law enforcement with my field of study.

Q: What advice would you give younger kids wanting to play football at the collegiate level?
A: My advice would be to push yourself harder than you can possibly fathom. Do not look at what others are doing and how hard they work because, at the end of the day, only YOU can control how far and how hard you will be willing to go to master your craft and your sport. Having that mentality early in life will lead any athlete pursuing college football in a greater path to achieve that goal.

LET'S HAVE SOME FUN
Q: Top three favorites movies of all-time?
A: Forrest Gump, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers

Q: Who is your favorite musician or band?
A: Johnny Cash and Tyler Childers

Q: Cake or pie?
A: Cake

Q: If you could be any animal, what would you be?
A: A bald eagle

Q: Favorite kind of sandwich?
A: Italian sub with extra capocollo

Q: What fictional character do you wish you could meet?
A: Tony Soprano

Q: What would you name your boat if you had one?
A: Silver Stallion