Wesley College head football coach Mike Drass dies

Martin Frank | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Wesley College football coach Drass dies Wesley College head football coach Mike Drass, one of the winningest coaches in Division III football history, died Monday.

Chip Knapp has worked side by side with Mike Drass ever since the two started as assistant coaches at Wesley College in 1989.

They slept on each other's couches in the early days, before Drass was elevated to head coach four years later, with Knapp serving as the offensive coordinator.

Over the next 25 years, the two turned Wesley into a Division III football powerhouse.

Knapp said Drass was always about so much more than football. That's why he and so many Wesley College football players and students were stunned to learn Drass died suddenly on Monday.

He was 57. A cause of death has not been released.

"We had a unique relationship," Knapp said. "We were best friends, and we were coaches at the same time. He was the godfather to my kids and I'm the godfather to his daughter.

"You look at a lot of college coaching situations and people come and go. We always stayed together because we always had the same goals in mind. It was about helping these guys become good students and people, and then good football players."

Few did it better than Drass.

In his 25 seasons, Drass led Wesley to 14 NCAA Tournament berths, including in each of the past 13 seasons. The Wolverines reached the semifinals six times, including three straight years from 2009-11.

Drass' overall record is 229-69-1, the second most wins among active Division III coaches, trailing only Rick Giancola of Montclair State.

Drass' winning percentage of .768 is among the top 10 all time as well, and two of his players are on NFL rosters — Joe Callahan, who signed with the Eagles last week after spending most of the previous two seasons as the Green Bay Packers' third-string quarterback; and offensive lineman Matt Gono, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent following the NFL draft April 26-28.

"Coming out of high school, he was one of the few people who recruited me, showed interest and believed in me," said Callahan.

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As a senior in 2015, Callahan won the Gagliardi Trophy, the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for Division III football. That season, Callahan became the first NCAA Division III quarterback ever to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. He also threw for 55 touchdowns.

He gave Drass all of the credit.

"It's the type of energy he brought every day, year after year," Callahan said. "There was never a doubt, never a question that I and everyone else who played for him would buy into everything that he said.

"He always told us to win every game. He brought that mentality to everything in life. He wanted us to have that same energy in everything we did — not just in football, but in the classroom and making good decisions."

Knapp said the last time he saw Drass, on Saturday, was a great indication of the type of man Drass was.

Drass and Knapp attended Wesley's graduation ceremonies on Saturday. Afterward, Dominick Massimiano, a former player and current graduate assistant who had just gotten his Master's degree, invited Drass and Knapp out to dinner with his family.

"Dom wanted us to be there because he was so proud to get his Master's," Knapp said. "That meant everything to Mike, to see how hard he worked to achieve his goal. You could see how proud Mike was. Then Mike left early to take pictures with his daughter before her prom.

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"Family meant everything to Mike. It wasn't just football. We have a large football family. He touched so many lives — players, people who work here, students, faculty, staffers. He touched thousands of lives."

Knapp saw this on Drass' first day in the fall of 1989.

"The first day in his new job, he was out selling advertisements for the football game program," Knapp said. "I remember saying to myself, 'Wow! This guy is all in from Day 1. He didn't need an adjustment period. He just went right in."

It wasn't long before that was evident to everyone who came into contact with Drass.

"The Wesley College family's heart is broken, and we are devastated by the loss of our long-time Athletic Director, Head Football Coach, educator and friend," Wesley president Robert E. Clark II said. "No words can adequately describe how our Wesley College family feels, but our thoughts, prayers and our love are with ... the entire Drass family."

That's why Knapp said he and the other assistant coaches spent hours on Monday calling current and former players on the team. Then the coaches gathered the players who were still on campus for a meeting.

It wasn't as much relaying the bad news because many had already heard. It was more to celebrate the impact Drass has had on their lives.

"You could see it in their faces," Knapp said. "We talked about his impact, and what he would want us to do next. That was pretty obvious because it wasn't just about what we can do to be better football players and coaches. It was also what we can do to be better human beings."

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Callahan saw this as well.

"He would always talk to me when there was something I was dealing with on or off the field," Callahan said. "He'd say, 'Imagine if me or your parents were standing right behind you. What would you do?'

"I always felt like he was there guiding me. It's rare that you meet someone in life like that. It's just a really sad day."

Drass is survived by his wife Laurie and daughter Molly. Memorial and funeral services will be determined at a later time.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.