After a disappointing 3-8 campaign in the first season of the Rich Rodriguez era, the Mountaineers prepared to make wholesale changes on defense.

The new scheme was the unique 3-3-5 defense which required the services of athletic defensive backs that could fill multiple roles. And one of the targets that emerged to the forefront on the coaching staff's recruiting board was lightly recruited Worthington-Kilbourne High School safety Mike Lorello.

While Lorello was making waves on the high school field, colleges weren’t necessarily taking notice. Growing up in the Columbus area, he took interest in another football – the European kind – as a member of several club state championship teams.