Tim Tessalone ends a stalwart career in the USC athletics control center

2 years ago 363

It was Labor Day successful the Coliseum, 1989. USC had someway turned a 13-0 pb implicit Illinois into a 14-13 loss.

Dwayne Garner was the cornerback who had fixed up the cardinal touchdown. Reporters assumed they’d beryllium grilling the young antheral successful a sullen locker room, lasting amid rolled-up portion and instrumentality bags, straining to perceive the explanations, portion his teammates glared. They weren’t looking guardant to it.

They listened to manager Larry Smith successful a small, ceremonial interrogation area. Then they blinked. Here came Garner. He sat down and spoke into a microphone, took the responsibility, explained it all.

You can’t justice a idiosyncratic connected 1 moment. That was 1 of 2 that defines Tim Tessalone, the Trojans’ sports accusation manager who retires Jan. 1, but volition enactment connected for the archetypal six months of 2022 successful an advisory role.

In 2011, backmost Matt Barkley was eligible to go a first-round NFL draught choice. But the Trojans would instrumentality 15 different starters and flight their vessel prohibition successful 2012. So Barkley, with the marching set surrounding him successful Heritage Hall, announced helium wasn’t going anywhere.

As it turned out, the Trojans went 7-6 and Barkley became a fourth-round prime and mislaid untold projected dollars. But helium has ne'er publically second-guessed himself.

Tessalone, backmost successful his office, was astir moved to tears.

“That conscionable shows you what this spot means to him,” helium said.

Tessalone became the adjunct SID successful 1979 and got the full-time occupation successful 1984. That is simply a batch of clip connected a tightrope, but Tessalone is accustomed to permanence.

Mike and Denise, his parents, ran a furnishings and appliance store for 30 years, and Denise, arsenic a child, braved the Nazi concern of Paris. For 57 years, they lived successful the aforesaid location successful Torrance.

The SID’s beingness is ruled by routines and the ticking of merciless clocks. The ascendant forces are the assemblage and the media. Satisfying them some is contradictory and, were it not for Tessalone’s example, astir impossible.

Instead, coaches and writers relied upon Tessalone’s professionalism truthful arsenic that they each wondered if he’d ever utilized his redshirt year.

For Trojans, helium was the 1 who arranged their validation. For the remainder of us, helium provided the worldly to Write On.

He usually wore a achromatic garment with his sleeves rolled up, and helium spent astir autumn Saturdays moving the property container and past coordinating the postgame media dance. Technically, Lincoln Riley is Tessalone’s 11th caput coach.

“I’ve been fortunate due to the fact that astir of our coaches and athletes benignant of get it,” Tessalone said. “Some places shield people, but to maine it’s portion of the acquisition experience.”

“I retrieve erstwhile UCLA bushed america due to the fact that Freeman McNeil scored connected a agelong walk that (future Titans and Rams coach) Jeff Fisher tipped. It landed successful McNeil’s hands. Afterwards I told Jeff that the media would privation him, but helium didn’t person to bash it. He looked maine successful the oculus and said, ‘Let’s go.’ I knew close past Jeff would bash good successful life.”

It was much a ngo than a job. Tessalone, woman Trudi and sons Troy and Trevor and girl Tori are each Trojans.

There was besides a affluent raft of characters, from George Raveling to Harold Miner to Mike Gillespie to John Robinson to Ron Allice to a 100 others. When a quality hydroelectric works named Pete Carroll came from nowhere, Tessalone soon realized it made sense.

“I heard him archer the squad that if they stuck with him, he’d instrumentality them places they’d ne'er been,” Tessalone said. “I said, ‘Whoa. He’s connected this.’ And helium did.’’

In the aboriginal years, you produced a property merchandise by typing done a stencil and taking the stencil to the mimeograph machine, which utilized a fluid that, parenthetically, carried hallucinogenic broadside benefits.

Then you stuffed those releases into hundreds of envelopes and sent them to media outlets nationwide.

“Fortunately we had the all-time envelope-stuffer,” Tessalone said.

That was Keyshawn Johnson, a vicinity kid. He did the occupation each week. A fewer years later, helium was stuffing touchdowns, and the releases would beryllium each astir him.

But it’s besides Michael Hayes, a backup who ran for a agelong touchdown astatine the extremity of a rout of UCLA successful 1979, and it’s the legendary complaint by Kendall Ellis that won the 2018 NCAA women’s way and tract championships, and it’s a makeshift formation volleyball tribunal that spawned the dominance of Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes successful 2016.

“All the athletes get their moment,” Tessalone said. “It mightiness beryllium astatine practice. It mightiness beryllium astatine a game. But it’s important to observe them.”

Rey Maualuga was a marauding linebacker for Carroll’s teams. He besides wasn’t acquainted with interviews and self-analysis. Tessalone and his unit kept moving with him.

When Maualuga got the Chuck Bednarik Award astatine a black-tie banquet successful Charlotte successful 2008, helium delivered a solid, heartfelt 20-minute speech, sans notes. That was 1 of galore Pygmalion moments for Tessalone.

“The coolest happening has ever been seeing our athletes make and grow,” Tessalone said.

There were pugnacious days, too.

Distinguished region swimmer Megan Holliday fell to her death, trying to ascent into her dormitory window, successful 1993. Point defender Ryan Francis promised greatness arsenic a freshman, past was changeable to decease astatine location successful Baton Rouge successful 2006.

Lane Kiffin got fired astatine an LAX outer terminal aft the Trojans were clobbered astatine Arizona State successful 2013. Tessalone came location successful the acheronian and batted retired the release.

“I deed the ‘send’ fastener astatine 4:30 a.m., which was 7:30 Eastern,” helium said. “Then I went connected Twitter and watched it travel backmost crossed the country. It was surreal.”

And successful 2010, the NCAA informed USC that its findings against the shot programme would beryllium delivered soon.

The occupation was that Tim and Trevor would beryllium spending 2 weeks successful Europe. That was the woody helium made with each his kids, erstwhile they graduated from USC.

“The level is virtually going down the runway arsenic they’re making the announcement,” Tessalone said. “Fortunately I person a large staff. Paul Goldberg and the others were coordinating interviews. I didn’t perceive each the reactions until I got to London.”

On Nov. 28, Tim’s daughter, Tori, was location from New York, and the household drove to Uncle Bill’s successful Manhattan Beach for breakfast.

That’s erstwhile Brandon Sosna, right-hand antheral to diversion manager Mike Bohn, called.

“Well, conjecture what?” helium said.

The “what” was Riley, coming to USC, an unforeseen thunderclap.

Normally Tessalone would person said damn the pancakes and gone afloat velocity up to Heritage Hall.

He got determination soon enough. But archetypal helium smelled the coffee, and fto the timepiece run.