Lakeview offensive lineman commits to Toledo

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Lakeview High School senior Vincenzo Pizzo is a 6-foot 6-inch lineman on the football team and will continue his football career at the University of Toledo next year.

Lakeview’s football program has seen an uptick in winning over the last five years and 2025 marked one of the best seasons in program history. With the team’s success, Lakeview has also received more attention from collegiate programs.

Pizzo is the first Division 1 college football player to come out of Lakeview in more than a quarter century.

“We had a kicker… Paul Savich who was a late ’90s guy. He played at Central Michigan… And in the ’70s we had a guy that played at Minnesota,” Lakeview head coach Patrick Threet said. “It’s safe to say that he’s the first (Division 1 football player) in 25 years.”

Lakeview has had a handful of players go on to play college football over the years, but signing with a Division 1 program is a different level.

“We’ve had a lot of guys go on to play college football. But if you just look up Division 1 rosters, and you look at the size of the offensive tackles, you’re going to see guys that are 6 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 8 inches and that are 300 pounds,” Threet said. “Vincenzo looks like those guys… You’ve got to have the size, the height, the weight, and you’ve got to be able to move your feet.”

Having the size helps, but you have to consistently do your job on the football field to be looked at by Division 1 programs. Pizzo has grown in that area a lot throughout his high school career.

“You have to know what you’re supposed to do, and then you have to know how to do it,” Threet said. “Our run game scheme… We were (running) right to the side of him. I think this year he became a complete football player. Not just knowing what to do but knowing when it would work based on how other people were playing us.”

The run game was what Lakeview built its offense around, and having arguably the best senior tackle in the state certainly helped the program achieve what it wanted to on the football field.

“It’s just smashmouth football. If they can’t stop it, we’re going to keep pounding the football,” Pizzo said. “Hopefully (our success) brings a lot more college coaches out to come watch the boys at Lakeview. There’s a lot more dawgs there.”

According to 247 Sports, Toledo has the best 2026 recruiting class out of all teams in the Mid-American Conference, and Pizzo aims to be a part of the program’s bright future.

“I’m going to work hard. Hopefully, I’m going to be the hardest worker,” Pizzo explained. “And hopefully, I’ll be the best lineman to come out of Toledo… I just want to set standards there.”

Pizzo departs the Lakeview program not only as a Division 1 football player, but he leaves behind a team that is better off now than it was when he first joined the roster. Now, he looks to help Toledo get back on top of the MAC.

“I want him to win every day. I want him to represent his family, our school, our team, and our city the right way,” Threet said. “To be a guy that’s dependable and reliable… And I expect him to be an impactful player at the university.”