WORCESTER—When Worcester State athletic director Mike Mudd began sifting through the 60 or so applications he got when the Lancers advertised for a new head football coach, when he got as far as seeking advice, there was one common theme.
It involved the man he eventually hired, Lazaro Mitjans Jr., and the advice boiled down to this.
“If you don’t hire this guy, you’re out of your mind. He’s got one of the best young football minds in the Northeast.”
Nobody wants to be regarded as being out of their mind so Mudd hired Mitjans. The move was announced Thursday and the new coach was on campus, and on the job, that same day.
Mitjans is nearly 28. He is a graduate of Ashland High and the University of Massachusetts. Mitjans was a linebacker in high school and knew as far back as then that he wanted to be a coach. So he never played for the Minutemen.
“When I went UMass,” he recalled, “from the second I got on campus I worked for the football team. My days were pretty much classes and homework in the morning, lunch, and then I’d go down to the football facility.”
If the Mitjans name sounds familiar, that is probably because his father spent three years as head coach at Algonquin Regional. The senior Lazaro Mitjans was at that school from 2003 through 2005 and compiled a 13-20-0 record. He then moved on to become head coach at Brookline High.
The Mitjans family has a long history of football coaching. Lazaro Mitjans’ brother, Orlando, was an assistant coach at the Citadel and West Point among other assignments and was named the inaugural head coach at Thomas University in Georgia in 2022.
This new Lancers coach has several years of experience as an assistant. He has been on the staff at Harvard, Amherst and Mass. Maritime Academy. At Harvard, Mitjans served as running backs coach. At Amherst he was responsible for recruiting and coaching the wide receivers. In two seasons with Mass Maritime Litjans worked as offensive coordinator and coacah running backs and wide receivers.
Mark Whipple was head coach at UMass when Litjans got there and the Minutemen scored a lot of points. It was an awakening, although not a rude one, for the new student.
“When I got to UMass,” Litjans said, “that was the beginning of me understanding that I did not know anything about football, and then I was able to learn so much actual football.”
He will be the first Worcester State coach with no previous connection to the school.
“I think that overall I wanted a fresh approach with our program,” Mudd said. “This is just our fourth coach in 40 years. There is nothing wrong with that and we’re proud of that, but we’ve had some hard times in terms of won and lost in recent years.
“We’ve done a great job recruiting and graduating our student-athletes, but obviously we’d like to win more games as well.”
It could that Litjans’ hiring is a case of life imitating art. Six months ago, before this job was posted, he moved to Worcester with his girlfriend. He likes the city as well as the opportunity.
“Why this is so special,” he said, “is that I think Worcester State is a place that has everything you need in order to be successful at his level. Although the wins and losses may not be there right now the program is headed in the right direction as far as player retention and academics.”
Mitjans takes over from Zach Besaw, who served as interim coach last season and was a candidate for the permanent position as well.
“Zach did an outstanding job taking over a difficult situation and creating a great environment for our student-athletes,” said Mudd. “We are hopeful that Zach will continue to remain an important part of our program moving forward.”
The key words seem to be “moving forward.” The Lancers are hoping that the new perspectives Mitjans brings to the job keeps them headed that way.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
