The locale — Cleveland — wasn’t the greatest, but Greg Sullivan had a well-paying job in commercial real estate with a bright future ahead of him.

Still, something was missing from his life — football. It’s Sullivan’s true passion, the game that transformed him into a star quarterback at Monroe-Woodbury. He missed the game.

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“I had to get back to football some way, some how,” said Sullivan, who led Monroe-Woodbury to the 2005 Class AA state championship.

On a cold night in January, Sullivan reached out to Colgate offensive coordinator Dan Hunt for some advice and, perhaps, a job lead. Seven months later, Sullivan, 23, is starting his new career as Colgate’s running backs coach.

He played at Colgate and is a former first-team All-Patriot League quarterback. Sullivan threw for 4,996 yards in his three seasons as the starting signal caller, including 1,952 yards as a junior with 18 touchdowns. He finished his career with a 25-7 record and was part of the 2008 Patriot League championship team.

“You have to do something that you love and I love football,” said Sullivan, a two-time (2005-06) Varsity845 Player of the Year. “I wasn’t happy doing what I’m doing, but I’m happy now. I’m lucky to have this opportunity.”

Using his connections, Hunt helped Sullivan land a graduate assistant job at Sacred Heart in Connecticut in March. However, when the running backs position opened at Colgate, the pair connected again. Sullivan, a 2011 Colgate graduate, is entering his second week of preseason practice. Colgate opens the season Sept. 1 at Albany University, where Monroe-Woodbury’s quarterback last year, Ryan Spelman, is on the roster.

“He’s going to be an awesome coach,” Monroe-Woodbury coach Bernie Connolly said. “I told him after his first season as starter at Colgate. He started with physical therapy and pre-law as majors, but he was kidding himself. I told him he would be a college coach. He will make a fabulous coach because he always wanted to know what was going on as a player.”

By Justin Rodriguez, Times Herald-Record
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120814/SPORTS/208140311