The University of Pittsburgh has never had a problem with finding local talent and making sure that talent stayed at home.
Whether it was Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino in the past, or Aaron Donald and Tyler Boyd in the present, Pitt has always succeeded in recruiting Pittsburgh products. Among those talents is former linebacker Tom Tumulty.
Tumulty, now 47, is a native of Penn Hills, where he played his high-school football. The decision to commit to play for the Panthers came down to a few key factors.
"I was recruited by just about everybody, the big ones around here like Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. I always liked Pitt and I'm a fiercely loyal person. Because of the love and respect that they showed me, I felt like it was the right thing to do," Tumulty told me.
Loyalty was not the only attractive commodity for Tumulty. Proximity to home played a large role as well.
"Having my parents live seven miles away and having them come to a practice or two was very special to me. My dad worked in Lawrenceville, so he could just come up over the hill to watch," Tumulty said.
In 1991, Tumulty was awarded the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year Award. The award was the conference's inaugural honor. Tumulty remains humble about earning this honor.
"I had a pretty good year. There were some really great players. Then, you're almost naive. You kind of just play as hard as you can for as long as you can and let the chips fall where they may," Tumulty said.
The award came in the midst of a season where Pitt went 6-5 despite a tough schedule that featured games against nationally-ranked teams, including #7 Notre Dame, #24 Syracuse, #20 East Carolina and #6 Penn State.
"To know that you can play at that level and succeed gave you some confidence to continue marching forward. It was a big honor and I'm very proud of it," Tumulty said.
Tumulty was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 178th selection in the 6th round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He recalls the process as containing a roller-coaster of emotions.
"I didn't want to have everyone waiting at my house while it does or doesn't happen. You never know. The week before, Mel Kiper had me going in the second or third round to Pittsburgh. At the time, I loved the Steelers. I'm an Irish-Catholic kid from Pittsburgh, my dad was a steelworker," Tumulty told me.
The hometown Steelers were not the only team that was attracted to Tumulty's talent.
"Philly also said that they'd like to keep me in Pennsylvania. I played in the Senior Bowl that year and the Seattle Seahawks said, 'If you're still there in the third round, we'd love to have you out here.' I had a real good week," Tumulty said.
After that process, however, Tumulty's emotions started to shift.
"Realistically, I knew there was no chance of the first round, maybe second round, but my gut told me third round. Then that call doesn't happen. Now it's the next day and after the fourth round, I said, 'I don't even care anymore. I'll go play baseball.' I was so nervous and so upset, but nobody knew it," Tumulty said.
Then, one simple action changed his life forever.
"My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife [Christine] asked to go for a walk. The second we got back after we walked in the house, the phone rings," Tumulty indicated.
From there, it all came to fruition for the Penn Hills native.
"It was [Dave] Shula (head coach) and the linebackers coach [Joe Pascale] that gave me the call. Then all the reporters and cameras came. It's a childhood dream. Just to have the opportunity is an unbelievable feeling," Tumulty said.
In parts of four seasons with the Bengals, Tumulty started 18 games, recording a forced fumble, 1.5 sacks and 74 solo tackles in the process. Unfortunately, injuries hampered what certainly could have been a longer career.
"I got hurt about halfway through my fourth year. I was on the IR (injured reserve) that year and the PUP (physically unable to perform list) for my fifth year. After that year, I decided to retire," Tumulty said.
Tumulty certainly suffered a gauntlet of pain that made the decision very understandable.
"I was just so beat up. I went to rehab with Jim Andrews in Alabama almost every other week. I ended up having two elbow surgeries while I was down there getting my knee checked," Tumulty told me.
Tumulty gave everything he had to the game of football despite the adverse circumstances.
"I started as a true freshman at age 18. I had played since I was 8 years old. I played every snap in college. Even as a pro, I played 15-20 snaps a game plus special teams for the first five weeks. Then, Steve Tovar [starter] gets hurt, so I played every snap my rookie year, second year and third year. I never had that transitional period to let my body heal," Tumulty said.
By then, there was very little gas left in Tumulty's tank.
"After that fifth year, I was tired of it. I never played for the money. I played with my heart. It became a pretty easy decision [to retire]," Tumulty said.
During his time in southwestern Ohio, one memory sticks out a little more than others for Tumulty.
"That first time playing against the Steelers was special. To play against the team that you grew up loving was amazing, just walking in and seeing the stands. I was warming up before the game and ran into Bill Cowher," Tumulty told me.
For Tumulty, he had to forget about his past love for the Steelers and focus on his present task at-hand.
"It quickly turned into hating them. I remember walking through the tunnel and the fans were saying, 'Tumulty, you suck.' I'm thinking, 'Hey, thanks pal. A couple years ago, you had my jersey on.' That was interesting," Tumulty said.
In recent years, Pitt has struggled with low attendance figures for home games at Heinz Field. Alumni like Tumulty have certainly noticed.
"Winning always helps. To be off-campus is always a negative. I always loved, at Pitt Stadium, seeing the fraternities carrying their banners and Greek letters. To be on-campus is special. I was a big proponent of finding a way to get them back there. I think until we do that, we'll struggle in that sense," Tumulty said.
Tumulty still has visions of a beautiful stadium in Oakland.
"We don't need a 102,000-seat stadium. Build a 45,000-seat stadium like our old stadium, minus the track. I loved that stadium [Pitt Stadium] and the vision of it. Imagine on that hillside, without the track around it. It would have been so cool. When you have to jump on a bus to go down to the game, that stinks," Tumulty said.
Tumulty played for head coach Johnny Majors for the majority of his time at Pitt. Majors, coached Pitt on two separate occasions (1973-1976, 1993-1996) and brought the school its most recent national championship in 1976.
Majors passed away on June 3 at the age of 85. Tumulty recognizes that Majors was as good as they come.
"We had a lot of talent. Many of us contributed in the NFL. When he [Majors] came in, his reputation preceded him. His biggest thing for us was discipline, and we needed it. From a personal level, he made me a better player with technique. He helped me improve my angles," Tumulty said.
Not only did Majors build Tumulty as a football player, but he helped him as an individual as well.
"I was a captain, and if you're a good leader, you can be a captain. He helped me a lot as a young man and in being a captain off the field and out of the locker room. He also helped me to contribute to society in a meaningful way and to be a good person while doing it, and he did that for a lot of people," Tumulty indicated.
When Majors passed away, it hit Tumulty on a personal level.
"I was sad to hear that. I'm very thankful that I had the opportunity to get under his wing. I loved his wife [Mary Lynn]. They were really good people," Tumulty said.
It was announced that "The O" in Oakland was closing approximately two months ago. Reports have come out that Pittsburgh native and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban may try to salvage the famous restaurant. Tumulty hopes the latter is true.
"We even went to The O when I was in high school. It was the spot. I hung out there upstairs with friends. I had food there a million times. With pizza for $3 and the fries that your whole family can eat," Tumulty said.
Tumulty was concise on his thoughts of a potential closing.
"It would be a shame for that place not to be there," Tumulty said.
The NFL veteran and Penn Hills product currently resides in the Pittsburgh area.
Comments