ST. LOUIS — Brock Olivo is the new Special Teams Analyst for The University of Missouri's football team.
He finished his career at Mizzou first all-time in rushing yards and touchdowns. He also was the National Special Teams Player of the Year.
All this out of someone who wasn't that fast, but always motivated.
"I was a late bloomer, so everyone kind of passed me up. I got beat in a race one day and I went home and told my father 'Dad, this happened to me. I'm mad, I'm angry. What do I have to do?'," he said. "He came back, my father being a coach, came back the next day and put a poster on my wall that said 'When you're not training, someone somewhere is and when you meet them they will win' and that's all it took for me. It lit a fire in my belly and from there I took off."
He spent four years playing in the National Football League, six years as a coach and four years doing both in Italy, where they don't take it quite as seriously.
"My first game coaching over there and at halftime, I'm the offensive coordinator, making adjustments and I'm looking for our starting center," he said. "One of my assistant coaches says 'Oh yeah, coach, he is outside smoking a cigarette with his girlfriend.' and then he said 'Welcome to Italy.'"
And welcome back to Mizzou, Olivo. He is thrilled to be back working for the team.
"I go to work at Faurot Field every day, to me that is a dream come true," he said.
Sign up for 5 On Your Side's newsletters: