Adhir Ravipati is the new QB coach for College of San Mateo football

“Ask Coach T (CSM head coach Tim Tulloch) and then tell me,” Ravipati said.

The move is a continuation of the evolution of the CSM coaching staff, which began in 2019 when longtime offensive coordinator Bret Pollack decided the best way to help the offense was to take over offensive line coaching duties. Mike Dovenberg was then moved to OC and QB coach. The hiring of Ravipati will take some of the load off Dovenberg.

But there is more than just a football motive to the move. Both Ravipati and the CSM coaching staff look at their jobs not just as football coaches, but life coaches. They relish the chance to help these young men get a college education through football and at the same time developing them into responsible adults in society.

“When I was at M-A, I got a lot of inquiries from four-year colleges wondering if I was interested in making that jump. I get lots of calls about coaching, but I’m very particular about what meets my values of it being more than just about football,” Ravipati said. “The CSM program is just that.”

Tulloch said he wasn’t necessarily looking to hire a quarterbacks coach, per se. He was looking for a way to give his team a competitive advantage not only on the field, but in helping student-athletes move on to the four-year level to complete their degrees.

“As a head coach, It’s really important to me that the staff models our core values and it’s the right fit. I’m not just going to bring in a guy,” Tulloch said. “[Ravipati] has always been kind of family. He fits our culture.

“He’s always kind of been in our circle. … He’s been connected to us for a long time.”

Tulloch said he first started following Ravipati as he was recruiting the lanky wide receiver during his high school days at Harker School and followed him during his time playing at University of San Diego under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw.

After graduating Northeastern University in 2010, then-M-A head coach Sione Taufoou hired Ravipati to his staff beginning the 2011 season. Taufoou stepped down following the 2014 campaign and Ravipati took over the Bears program. He guided them to the 2016 3A state championship game, a 39-21 loss to Paraclete-Lancaster. In 2018, the Bears beat Lincoln-San Diego 21-7 for the 3AA state title.

At the same time, Ravipati developed a number of M-A players into legitimate Division I college recruits — including Daniel Heimuli and Noa Ngata at University of Washington and Troy Franklin, now at University of Oregon.

But demands of his job as a product development manager at Dropbox necessitated Ravipati giving up head coaching duties, but the 34-year-old, 2005 Harker School graduate just can’t stay away from the game. During the 2019 season, he managed to carve out time from his work schedule to serve as a volunteer offensive analyst for the Bulldogs, breaking down game film and helping develop game plans.

“At that time, that was the most I could give,” Ravipati said.

But the ensuing pandemic and lockdown slammed the brakes on everything. Forced to be without the game, Ravipati came to a decision that football needed to be part of his life and he decided he would do what he could to fill that void. It wasn’t just the X’s and O’s that he missed. He missed the camaraderie of the coaches and seeing the development of players.

He first got back on the field when he started training some of those M-A players with whom he still had a relationships. That led to his involvement with Top Flight Elite — a football-specific training academy. But knowing that those athletes would be playing during the school year, Ravipati needed to find another outlet, which led to the CSM job.

“[Staying in the game] was definitely something I was thinking about, spending that 2020 in the pandemic. Once things started opening up, I was doing the training thing,” Ravipati said. “In a way, I just felt like I got that service part of my life to give to others.

“Not having that service part of my was life hard. I think it kind of motivated me to make it work (staying involved with football), no matter what.”

Said Tulloch: Adhir brings so much. He’s such a big asset to the program. … He brings not just a wealth of football knowledge, he brings so much off the field. He’s great at creating relationships with the players.

“He’s a ball coach. You can’t just completely step away from the game.”