Junior Vinnie Paciulli played defensive line as a freshman and started as the left guard for the NAU football team last year.
This spring, he's about 65 pounds lighter than when he was a freshman and is looking to become the team's starting fullback this fall. The team's needs a veteran body at the position and Paciulli fits the bill. So far, it's a switch that Paciulli has been enjoying.
"Just the full speed -- colliding with somebody else," Paciulli said about what he likes most of his new position. "It's kind of different from the offensive line where you take two or three steps; as a fullback, I get a running head start."
For Paciulli, it isn't a completely unnatural transformation. He played the position at times in high school and although he's spent most of his NAU career playing as a lineman, now that he weighs about 230 pounds, he's hovering around his natural body weight. Last year, weighing 260 pounds, Paciulli wasn't the heaviest offensive lineman.
The techniques between the two positions aren't so different from each other.
http://www.azdailysun.com/sports/college/nau-lumberjacks/article_91c580d0-3ee7-11df-801e-001cc4c002e0.html
This spring, he's about 65 pounds lighter than when he was a freshman and is looking to become the team's starting fullback this fall. The team's needs a veteran body at the position and Paciulli fits the bill. So far, it's a switch that Paciulli has been enjoying.
"Just the full speed -- colliding with somebody else," Paciulli said about what he likes most of his new position. "It's kind of different from the offensive line where you take two or three steps; as a fullback, I get a running head start."
For Paciulli, it isn't a completely unnatural transformation. He played the position at times in high school and although he's spent most of his NAU career playing as a lineman, now that he weighs about 230 pounds, he's hovering around his natural body weight. Last year, weighing 260 pounds, Paciulli wasn't the heaviest offensive lineman.
The techniques between the two positions aren't so different from each other.
http://www.azdailysun.com/sports/college/nau-lumberjacks/article_91c580d0-3ee7-11df-801e-001cc4c002e0.html
