All In The Family: Christian Giubilato (S) The Haverford School

 

By, Matt Alkire

 

While coaches on the East coast are making the rounds during the evaluation period this spring they’re going to have a pleasant surprise in store for them when they stop by The Haverford School. The safety class in Philadelphia is already looking good, but Christian Giubilato is a player flying under the radar simply because he has always been thought of as a nationally elite lacrosse player. Well, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound athlete had one heck of a junior year for the Fords and that film is already really impressing coaching staffs that have seen it.

 

View Christian Giubilato's Highlight Film 

 

To say that is a surprise would be lying of course if you know the Giubilato family. Those who do understand that Christian comes from a line of genetic freaks and tough guys that do what normal people can’t, but for those outside of Southeastern Pennsylvania – it’s something to look at.

 

Christian’s father started his football career at the University of Delaware with K.C. Keeler as a teammate before transferring to Penn State where he played fullback. That alone would be enough, but he was also an undefeated member of the Nittany Lions’ boxing team.

 

After his time in State College, Giubilato Sr. turned to AAU boxing where he won the Sunshine Games in Florida, among many other events. He helped trained Joe Frazier and to make some extra cash on the side, sparred with six boxing champions over the years in Larry Holmes, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Randall “Tex” Cobb, Tyrell Biggs and Tim Witherspoon. Oh yeah, he’s also run 10 marathons, including the New York Marathon six times in a row.

 

Christian’s older brother Mark was a 6-foot-3, 232-pound quarterback out of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia who I personally scouted coming out of high school. Never allowed to play defense at his school, he ended up turning down a scholarship to play quarterback at Temple University. Had he played linebacker for The Prep, it’s my opinion that he would have been a 20-30 scholarship player.

 

Mark started for Pittsburgh as a redshirt freshman at Pittsburgh, earned a scholarship and was a standout once again at fullback as a sophomore last season in front of two potent rushers. He could easily be an NFL prospect in a few years – that is if the Panther staff doesn’t end up moving him to linebacker first given his mid 4.5 speed.

 

The reason for going into this background of athleticism in the family you ask? Everything seems to come naturally to a Giubilato.

 

 

Christian is ranked among the Top 100 overall players in the country for the Class of 2014 right now. His Mesa Fresh club team won the National Championship in Florida last year. Before he transferred to The Haverford School he was at Conestoga High. In 2012 they also won a State Championship in lacrosse – their third in a row – Giubilato was a star midfielder.

 

At this point however the youngest of the clan is about ready to put down the stick and grab the football permanently, something we spoke to him about.

 

“I’m not 100-percent that I definitely won’t play lacrosse, but at this point I really do think I’ll just put my sole focus on football because of seeing what my brother and father do,” Giubilato said. “I just picked up the stick in sixth grade and started playing lacrosse for fun, but football is really a way of life and I enjoy it a lot more. I set high standards for myself and you have to work so much harder and push yourself so much more to play at a high level in football. Plus, people think it’s so unachievable to play Division I Football and I’ve heard it since eight grade, so frankly I want to prove that wrong.”

 

To speak bluntly, Giubilato could easily have his tuition paid for on a full lacrosse scholarship. He’s following his heart however and going at it on the gridiron instead. This past season he transferred from Conestoga High School to The Haverford School to play under Coach Michael Murphy and was a standout at running back and safety for the Fords.

 

“It was a shame only being able to play five games because of transfer rules, but being able to see what I’m capable of in those contests was great,” Giubilato explained. “I was glad to see I could make such a huge difference for my team on the field and it makes me so excited for next year because I want to go out and really dominate.”

 

To be clear, Giubilato simply was not allowed to play against other Inter-Ac League teams because he transferred. It is a league rule, he did nothing wrong. In his performances this year, he was dominant against outside competition.

 

“It was the first time I ever played running back, but I just got out there and used what I have with quick feet and toughness and did well,” Giubilato stated. “I got the ball for the first time against Penn Wood and went downfield 80 yards in seven carries for a touchdown and just fell in love immediately. Everything really just came naturally to be honest with you. Coach Murphy would just yell my name, they’d throw me the ball and I ran.”

 

Enter the Run, Forrest, Run jokes at this point.

 

 

 

While Giubilato did do well at running back and as a return man, his spot at the next level is going to be at safety where he was very effective this year. We asked him what he likes about that position.

 

“Safety is just great because I like having responsibility on the field and I’m the deciding factor of where there is going to be a touchdown or not. I like to be the savoir on defense if that makes sense. Being able to sit back there and grab interceptions is great and as you know, my favorite thing is having someone come over the middle on a post or slant and just knock right through them. Anyone that knows me is aware I’m going to absolutely hammer someone if they come across the field or if I’m up in run support and that is my favorite part of the game. I love playing a physical, brutal style of football and force turnovers.”

 

This offseason Giubilato does have one thing as a focus and that is getting his body right. He will be working out just about every day in the offseason and his goal is to add 15-20 pounds of muscle and continue to get faster, something that his family has absolutely no problem doing.

 

Also for the first time, he does not have to play lacrosse and focus on that sport which will give him time to add weight. He is looking to come into his senior year at Haverford at a cut 6-foot-2, 200+ pounds.
 

As for recruiting, the youngest of the tribe will have time to look at colleges which he has already started to do.

 

“I’ve already gone to games at Maryland and Pittsburgh several times,” Giubilato mentioned. “I’m going to be visiting Maryland, Penn State, and Temple for sure and am still setting up several other schools for this spring.”

 

We asked him what he is looking for in a school.

 

“I want to play at a good football program with a coaching staff I get along with obviously, but I think what’s most important is a campus and environment that I am really comfortable with,” Giubilato explained. “Academics will play a key role and I don’t want to go really far away from home, but I am pretty open to everything right now. I just want to be available to help my family if I need to just like my brother does who is at Pittsburgh.”

 

 

Giubilato’s future is definitely at safety. Watching him open his hips in the open field and run with receivers is really an impressive thing. He is extremely fluid and it’s very easy to see the lacrosse skills translate to the gridiron when he’s locked onto a wide receiver or tight end. Giubilato saying he is 6-foot-2 right now may also be cutting him a little bit short and we expect he’ll be at least an inch taller within a year. That really allows him to not only drape whoever he is covering, but also get a great jump on the ball and high-point deep balls. He has very good hands and after turnovers his vision in the open field make him a threat to take it the other way.

 

He does speak about loving to hit and frankly, I love watching him do it. Christian will come down hill and absolutely throw his body through people. His head is up, you see square shoulders and a boom is lowered. You’ll see him anticipate routes over the middle and break up passes by simply exploding through would be receivers. Giubilato does bring a very, very physical presence to the field.

 

What we’d like to see out of Giubilato by next season is a player in better shape. Because he had to focus on lacrosse and play for two teams in the offseason, he came into football without a ton of strength in his legs. You can see burst out of him, but he seems to run out of gas on long runs. He definitely has speed, but we just know from seeing him that he wasn’t in the right kind of shape last year. If Giubilato comes back for his senior year anywhere close to 200 pounds and in football shape, it’s my opinion that he is a definite FBS-level prospect. There is just too much size and athleticism to overlook there.

 

Christian Giubilato carries a 3.4 GPA at The Haverford School.