Paolo Grossi could not have possibly wrapped up his two-year career with the Tabor Academy football program (Marion, Massachusetts) in a more fitting fashion.

In his final play as a member of the Tabor Academy Seawolves, with family and former Jr Spartans' head coach Jordan Desilets on hand, the Sudbury lad picked off an errant pass to seal a John Papas Bowl Game victory for his side, taking down Buckingham Browne & Nichols School for a second straight week.

“That was pretty cool,” acknowledged the 18 year old safety / defensive back, who moves on to yet another very interesting phase of his journey next fall (more on that in a moment).

At a school that graduates many an athlete who will be seen on NCAA College Football Saturday broadcasts, the undersized northern Ontario teen who hits like a ton of bricks forged out a niche that will come as little surprise to all those who played at his side with either the St Benedict Bears or the Sudbury Jr Spartans locally.

“We had something like 15 D1 commits out of our starting 22,” noted Grossi. “I learned a lot from the talent that we had around us. That was something special that definitely helped make me better at practice.”

At 5’10” and 180 pounds, Grossi is not likely to blow scouts away on sheer raw athleticism. It is on the field of play where he impresses – and where, quite honestly, it matters the most. Coaches and teammates understand the value of the young man who was voted a team captain this year.

“I’m not a D1 guy but they still saw me as a leader with this team,” he said. “That was something special for me.”

A student of the game as far back as when he was still a shining star on the local youth soccer scene as a member of the Greater Sudbury Soccer Club Impact, Grossi never misses a chance to take in what those next to him have to offer, those who are heading away to the likes of Michigan (QB Peter Bourque), Tennessee (defensive lineman Carter Gooden) and UCLA (defensive lineman Marcus Almada) next August.

“I am seeing how they read a play versus the way I read a play, watching what they do on man to man coverage, watching where they are looking, all of those small details,” he said. “Even in team meetings, watching video, I’m trying to see what they’re seeing.”

“And in the classroom as well,” noted the academically inclined import. “We are always helping each other out, always doing our group projects together. Everything I learn from them definitely helps me on the football field, but also with my habits off the field as well.”

Those are sure to come in handy in the future.

In selecting to attend Colby College in Waterville (Maine), Grossi will study Economics (most likely) at a school which, along with in-state counterparts Bowdoin College and Bates College, form the prestigious “Little Ivies” (quasi Ivy League schools) in Maine.

A quick Google search of such noted the trio as “highly selective liberal arts schools known for academic rigour and quality, often grouped with other top Northeast colleges in the NESCAC conference and rivalling Ivy League standards”.

“The main reason that we chose there was the academics – and the coaching staff,” noted Grossi.

The Mules, as they are affectionately known, are coming off a 6-3 season in which they closed out the fall campaign with four consecutive victories.

“They are a D3 school, but they also receive a lot of endowment donations, so their facilities are state of the art,” said Grossi.

As for his continued development, it is somewhat more of the same.

“You can never have enough speed and strength,” he said. “But the next step for me is the mental side; not getting in my own head –a nd being physical. A lot of the tall guys, the fast guys, a lot of them do not love contact.”

That, however, has never been an issue for one of the most natural tacklers that the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League has ever produced.

"In man to man coverage, your job is to disrupt the receiver, disrupt the timing between him and the quarterback," explained Grossi. "That's your main goal. If you disrupt the timing and he is the quarterback's first read, then he is not throwing the ball his way, so your job is mostly done."

It's a job he has completed successfully many times over - and one upon which new knowledge will be layered as he takes the next step.

"More speed and strength; you can never have enough of that," noted Grossi. "But the next step for me is the mental side. I need to know everything on defense because I am in effect the QB of the defense."