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Blue Devil Spotlight: Chris Dapolito
9/24/2004 1:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2004
by Mallory Thompson
GoDuke.com
Chris Dapolito's clean-cut, unassuming appearance doesn't quite fit into this stereotype. In fact, his crisp manners, casual dress and self-professed love of the Food Network seem the complete opposite of what many would characterize a big, burly football player to be. But beneath the mild-mannered exterior, this senior quarterback indeed exemplifies all that is required to be considered an athlete, both on and off the field.
From early on, it was glaringly obvious that athletics would play a huge role in Dapolito's life, although the way it would play out was initially uncertain. Aside from a few early Pop Warner years, football didn't take priority until later on in high school. Dapolito played basketball and threw the javelin, among other things, but after just two years of high school football in Matawan, New Jersey, he was recruited by Rutgers University for football, where he enrolled as a scholarship player after graduation.
A coaching change after his freshman year at Rutgers led Dapolito to reconsider Duke as an option, where he was originally recruited. He followed one of the Rutgers coaches to Durham, and since then, hasn't looked back.
"Coming to Duke was the best decision I've ever made in my life," Dapolito said. "The people here are so diverse. And there are a great bunch of guys on the team. I've never seen or heard of a team that gets along so well. It's made this football experience one of the best of my life." Originally a third-string quarterback on the team, Dapolito has been climbing the ranks at Duke, racking up yards and touchdowns. Since the announcement of Ted Roof as head coach at the end of last season, Dapolito has been seeing more playing time than ever, rotating field time with the other Duke quarterbacks. While working towards finding an established quarterback, this current tactic is allowing the team to keep opposing defenses on their toes by changing up between a passing and a running game. But, as can be imagined, this can also be quite stressful on the quarterbacks themselves, who are continually unsure of their roles in the game.
"We've put Chris in a situation where he has to be ready to go at any point in the game, and he has responded to that challenge," said Roof. "His preparation during each week allows him to make a contribution on the field on Saturdays."
Roof is not the only one who has grown to trust and respect Dapolito through his commitment to the team. This past year, he was one of five players to be voted captains by their fellow teammates, a "huge honor," according to Dapolito, and something he is excited about and willing to step up to.
Roof agrees with the decision of the team.
"Obviously, Chris has earned a great deal of respect from his peers as the team voted him to be one of our captains for this season," he said. "I think it is pretty unusual in college football for a player who enters the season as a backup quarterback to be named captain. But Chris earned it. He understands his role with our offense and with our football program. He is a leader. The other players seem to rally behind him whenever he enters the game, whether that is on the opening series or sometime during the second half."
Clearly, Dapolito has proven himself to be a strong person both on and off the field. Majoring in sociology with a minor in history, Dapolito has made the most of his four years in North Carolina. After leaving Rutgers, he started his new college career as a freshman at Duke, optimizing his entire college experience again, something he is grateful he got to experience.
One of the best parts of his freshman year, he remembers, is learning how to play the guitar from Micah Harris, a teammate who passed away this summer. Harris, who was a great guitarist, taught Dapolito how to play when they lived in the same dorm freshman year, and it is something that he has not given up.
Football has understandably taken up a lot of his time over the past four years, but it is something that Dapolito relishes.
"I get bored with nothing to do," he said. "It's so much better to be busy."
It is quite fortunate that he feels this way, because with football season already here, being both a captain and a regular player leaves little time left over.
Which is why the upcoming month of December seems a little bit foreign to Dapolito. He is set to graduate at the end of this semester, but a lack of concrete plans for after college could lead to a lot of down time. Nevertheless, Dapolito still has many goals set up ahead of him. He plans to eventually attend graduate school and act as a graduate assistant football coach, so that he can get an education and continue to be a part of what he loves best at the same time. After that, something in the educational field -- possibly being a history teacher -- is plausible. Football will obviously always be an integral part of Dapolito's life. But instead of apprehension about the coming months, Dapolito is nothing less than thrilled about the uncertainty of his future.
"It's the best way to go about it," he said. "I want to experience a lot of things. I don't want to someday have a midlife crisis and think, `I wish I would have done this when I was twenty.' I'm really excited about it."
So maybe appearances aren't so deceiving after all, because despite being quite a talented athlete, Dapolito certainly doesn't fit the stereotype of what most people imagine a football player to be. But perhaps that's intentional and maybe Dapolito is on the way to redefining what an athlete should be.
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