Ciao! Rutgers football alums Chas Dodd, J.T. Tartacoff off to Italy

PISCATAWAY – Chas Dodd is reading "Italian for Dummies" and J.T. Tartacoff is studying a translation app on his smart phone, but the language barrier might not be so steep if Dodd just needs his wide receivers to go deep and execute as coached by Tartacoff.

The two former Rutgers football teammates are joining forces again beginning this week at practice with the Rome-based Lazio Marines of the Italian Football League, where Dodd will play quarterback and Tartacoff, whose college career was cut short by injury, will be a wide receivers coach.

"How many times do you get to do something like this?" Dodd said. "It is going to be a little more (life) experience-based, but I do want to continue to play, and I think this is an awesome opportunity to experience new things and see a new part of the world while I'm doing it."

Dodd coaxed Tartacoff and his former Byrnes High School (S.C.) teammate Corey Miller, who played defensive end at Tennessee, into joining him and might have acted even more like a general manager if each team was not capped at two Americans. The three will live together until the season ends in July.

"I'm working out five days a week," said Dodd, who ranks in the top 10 in school history in completions, attempts and passing yards. "Once you live this kind of lifestyle for eight years, it's tough to not go in the weight room again."

Tartacoff's lifestyle changed significantly after he and Dodd graduated last May. The Montgomery High School product left his job as a financial advisor at Emerald Financial Group in Bridgewater to try his hand at coaching, an interest that blossomed when he started working camps and pitching in at Montgomery.

The former wide receiver and defensive back at Rutgers counts Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck, a former Rutgers assistant, among his biggest influences.

"Especially with my background and only being 22 years old, they defininitely understood," Tartacoff said of his employers. "At the same time it was tough to leave. I had a good thing going. I learned from the best around. I was doing well. I wasn't comfortable leaving them, but this is my dream and I have to chase that."

Dodd went to a scouting day with the Jets, had a tryout with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and had talks with the Arena Football League's San Jose SabreCats. The pay in Europe doesn't compare to the North American leagues, Dodd said, but the league certainly will pose its challenges as he hopes to secure a place on the professiona league radar.

"We'll be doing a version of the Air Raid," Dodd said referring to one of football's most pass-heavy offensive systems. "From what I've heard, I don't think I've thrown like I'm going to since my high school days. I'm excited about that. I'm going to have to (ice) every quarter."

Dodd's last official pass was thrown in the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl as he finished a three-game stint following the benching of Gary Nova, who made 23 consecutive starts. The lightly recruited Dodd took the starting job away from Tom Savage as a freshman and alternated with Nova as a sophomore.

Tartacoff, who was Rutgers holder his last two seasons, threw his only touchdown pass during that same late-season span on a fake field goal.

"I'm used to the grind of working hard because of football, but 9-5 (hours) was a little different," said Tartacoff, who described his job as intense. "I've always loved football. I enjoy being around that lifestyle and maybe, yeah, there is some unfinished business I have to fulfill and maybe coaching will fill that little hole."

A coaching tie is the reason Dodd and Tartacoff got this opportunity in the first place. Dodd's stepfather, respected quarterback guru Bobby Bentley, trained players in Italy for the last several years before joining Auburn's staff as an offensive analyst.

Dodd took over the family quarterback camps in Bentley's absence, coached at a local middle school and was a substitute teacher while waiting for this opportunity to arrive. He and Tartacoff went to Italy in early 2014 to audition for their positions.

"First and foremost, it's coaching," Tartacoff said. "The main reason I'm going over there is to do a job and I want to win. But it's a great culture. I'm Italian. I love the food. I love the history. I can't wait to soak it all in."

One of Dodd's more ambitious goals for the next six months is to become fluent in Italian. Considering Tartacoff says "Ciao!" is the extent of his Italian, Dodd won't be getting as much help from his roommate off the field as he hopes to get on it.

"I've always had that as a backup scenario if nothing else happened. It kept leading up to it and this is the way it's going so I'm excited about it," Dodd said. "It's going to be a lot of fun, us three over in Italy playing ball and having a blast."

Staff Writer Ryan Dunleavy: rdunleav@gannett.com