The Marburg Mercenaries have strengthened their coaching staff for the GFL season 2021 with Konstantinos “Gus” Kosmakos.
Like Mercenaries head coach Joe Tricario, Kosmakos joins the Towson Tigers. There he played in the offense line from 2002 to 2005 and was team captain in his last college season. In his last two seasons he received the “Offense Player of the Year Award”, an award that only three offense line players have received before him.
From 2008 until this season he worked as a coach for the Tigers. First as an assistant for the offense and defense line, then as a linebacker coach and from 2013 as a defense line coach. In the same year, the Tigers played after a 13-3 season (13 wins and only 3 losses) for the FCS National Title. In this role he will now also take on responsibility for the mercenaries, but the other parts of the team will also benefit from his broad experience.
Europe is not new territory for Kosmakos, on the contrary. As you can see from his name, his parents come from Greece and he is very connected to Europe. At the Tigers he was also responsible for international recruiting and worked for many EIFA camps in Europe. His travel record on such a tour was 10 different countries in 11 days. There were also camps in Frankfurt, Cologne and Hamburg. Two Germans are currently playing in the offense line for Towson and the Belgian Tibo Debaillie was selected in the current CFL Draft from Edmonton after his Tigers college days.
During his time in Towson, Kosmakos had produced two All-Americans. Frank Beltre played 5 years in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts and made it into the practice squads of the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets.
Kosmakos’ second All-American is Ryan Delaire, who signed with the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers. For the Panthers, Delaire Sacks came from such renowned quarterbacks as Russel Wilson, Kirk Cousins and Jameis Winston.
Kosmakos knows how to develop talents and bring them to the highest level, as Tricario confirms: “I am very happy to have him in my coaching crew in Marburg. Our cooperation in Towson was very successful and I can definitely recommend training with Kosmakos to all line players who have not yet decided on a team ”.
We asked Kosmakos why, after such a long and successful time in Towson, he is now taking the step to Germany: “I am very connected to life and culture in Europe through my parents and my many trips. I have traveled to Greece again and again all my life. I even spent an entire winter there, producing olive oil on my family’s olive farm and then starting my own olive business. I’ve known Coach Tricario for a long time and we were always in close contact. I already had several offers from Europe and Germany, his program and the entire mercenaries environment quickly convinced me to spend this year in Germany. I am 36 years old, have no wife or children and I think this is the ideal time to have such an interesting new experience. “
In Marburg, Kosmakos meets another friend from Towson. The recently signed linebacker Robert Heyward also played for the Tigers there. Around this Tiger Trio with Tricario, Kosmakos and Heyward, the Mercenaries will form a defensive bulwark this GFL season, which will be difficult for the opponents to overcome.
Those: Marburg Mercenaries – Holger Weishaupt
Photos: © Peter Scheldt
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