Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

The University of Rhode Island announced Saturday that football coach Darren Rizzi has resigned to become an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins.

Rizzi had been an assistant for Rutgers for six years before taking the head coaching job at Rhode Island last season. He finished 3-9 overall with a 1-7 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Earlier this month Nashua South running back/defensive back David Zocco accepted a scholarship to play for Rizzi at Rhode Island. Zocco must now decide if he will honor that commitment following the coaching change. 

Zocco was named New Hampshire's Mr. Football as well as the state's Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior season.

Zocco rushed for 1,648 yards and 27 touchdowns last season, when he helped Nashua South win the Division I championship. He scored five touchdowns in the Division I championship game, a 33-32 triumph over Pinkerton Academy.

He also made 15 receptions for 158 yards as a senior. Defensively, he made 138 tackles and intercepted four passes. He was projected as an outside linebacker in college.

Rizzi will reunite with Miami head coach Tony Sparano, as the pair coached together at the University of New Haven. Sparano was head coach there from 1994-96, while Rizzi joined the staff in 1994 as special teams coordinator/defensive line coach.

"This was a very difficult decision to make because of my strong emotional ties to the school," Rizzi said. "However, the chance to coach with Tony Sparano again and to work with the Miami Dolphins organization is an opportunity that is best for my family and I."