March 31, 2009

By Bryan Powell, Media Relations Student Assistant

It may not come as a surprise to many that Patrick DiMarco is playing college athletics. His grandfather, Richard DiMarco, played basketball at St. John’s University. Both his father and uncle were involved in sports growing up. Another uncle is Chris DiMarco, a member of the PGA Tour. His cousin, Steve DiMarco, plays baseball in the Baltimore Orioles system. Success in sports is a part of being a DiMarco. He was surrounded by sports growing up, and quickly grew to love them.

“Growing up we were always playing something,” said the Gamecocks junior fullback. “I remember getting together as a family and everything we’d do would turn into a competition. If we were throwing a football, somebody had to be the one to throw it the farthest. If we were shooting a basketball, we had to see who could back up and hit the longest jump shot.”

Now that he has grown up, DiMarco has become more of a contender, and even a winner, in some of these family activities. “Now that I’m a little bigger, I think they wish I was still a little younger,” DiMarco laughed.

Growing up in the Orlando-Kissimmee suburb of Altamonte Springs, Fla., DiMarco was surrounded by some of the top high school athletes in the country. Despite being the Orlando Sentinel’s Player of the Year in Central Florida as a two-way player at Lake Brantley High School, DiMarco was primarily recruited by smaller Division I schools in Florida including South Florida, Central Florida, and Florida Atlantic. Late in the recruiting process, South Carolina began to show interest in the Florida native.

“Growing up in Florida, Coach Spurrier was a big deal,” acknowledged DiMarco. “Everyone knew what he had done at Florida. Everyone knew about the program he had put together there. I really hadn’t though much about South Carolina, but having Coach Spurrier show interest definitely made me interested.”

Shortly after first speaking with Spurrier, DiMarco attended the South Carolina football game against the Gators in The Swamp. Most Gamecock fans will remember the 2006 game as the game of the blocks. One extra point and two field goals were blocked causing the Gamecocks to fall to the Gators, 17-16. Florida would go on to win its first national championship since Spurrier left Gainesville.

For DiMarco, the thoughts may not have been the same as most Carolina fans. “I just remember thinking that I wanted to be out there,” DiMarco said reflecting on the game. “Maybe if I was out there, things would have been different.”

Since coming to Columbia, DiMarco has become an important all-around player for the Gamecocks. He plays fullback, participates on extra teams, and succeeds in the classroom where he was a member of the 2008 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll while pursuing a degree in business administration.

Though he has only carried the ball once in his career, he has become an excellent blocker and receiving option for Carolina out of the backfield. DiMarco has nine receptions and a pair of touchdowns. For DiMarco though, it’s not all about carrying the ball across the goal line.

“For me, a good block is just as good as scoring a touchdown,” said DiMarco. “I just do whatever the team needs me to do.”

While many of the skill position jobs are up for grabs in the spring, DiMarco has a stranglehold at the fullback spot. In fact, the South Carolina coaching staff continues to look for more ways to keep DiMarco on the field and in the middle of the action.

And while the Gamecock fans can expect to see more of DiMarco in his final two seasons in the Garnet and Black, no matter when or how his athletic career ends, the DiMarco legacy of success is sure to continue.