Crown Point senior Nolan Cicero seemed destined to be a star offensive lineman.
The Ball State recruit’s father, Tom Cicero, is a former standout at the position for the Bulldogs, played a season at Indiana State and is a successful longtime coach of offensive linemen, and his older brother Nick Cicero, a 2022 Crown Point graduate, is a senior captain and all-conference offensive lineman for McKendree.
But it’s not so straightforward.
“Nolan’s definitely the perfect O-lineman — big, strong, mean as hell,” Crown Point senior safety Dominic Fantin said. “His dad, coach Cicero, is known for pumping out DI and NFL linemen, and I know Nolan learned everything he can from him.
“But you can’t just coach a guy to be as good as Nolan. It comes from the constant hard work that he puts in too. I couldn’t ask for a better dude to be a senior leader with me.”
Nolan Cicero, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound second-year starting right tackle, had a breakout junior season and has continued his development for the three-time defending Duneland Athletic Conference champion Bulldogs (6-0), who have won 33 straight regular-season games and are ranked No. 4 in the Class 6A state coaches poll.
“I feel like I’ve improved this season,” Nolan Cicero said. “It’s the small stuff, like footwork. Every day, I’m coming in here and trying to master my craft. There’s always something to critique, and there’s always something to work on.”
He has done it all under the watchful eye of Tom Cicero, a 1998 Crown Point graduate.
“It’s great,” Nolan Cicero said. “Having somebody of his caliber and knowledge, he has guys everywhere — NFL, college, indoor football. Having somebody of his knowledge, it gets a little quiet at home, there’s fights here and there, but it’s such a blessing to have him around.”
Tom Cicero has also been around Crown Point coach Craig Buzea for nearly two decades. This is his 19th season on Buzea’s staff.
Nolan Cicero called Buzea a “father figure.”
“He’s a nice anchor on our offensive line,” Buzea said. “Obviously a coach’s kid, so he’s been around the game forever. He’s been around me forever. His dad has been coaching with me for as long as Nolan’s been alive. I was there when he was born. I’ve known him since he was small — and he wasn’t small very long.
“He has a great attitude, knows the game, great leadership. It’s not easy. It’s just not easy when your dad is your coach, your position coach. But they’ve handled it very well. Nolan’s brother Nick played here our first year here, and Tom got to coach him. Now he’s at McKendree playing football there. It’s just a football family. It’s been really good for us, and it’s been really good for them as well. Any time you get to coach your own boy, it’s special.”
Indeed, Tom Cicero has cherished the opportunity.
“It’s been awesome,” Tom Cicero said. “The moments that we’re sharing together on this field is something we’ll always remember forever.
“Coaching at H-F for so long, really the first time I got to see Nicholas, my oldest, play was his senior year when I was able to coach him here. And these last four years with Nolan have been awesome. It’s just been so rewarding, being able to do this with my sons.”
Tom Cicero was on the verge of joining Buzea at Portage before Buzea in 2007 took over at Michigan City, where Tom Cicero had been an assistant since 2002. Buzea described him as “my first hire” at Michigan City.
After three seasons together with the Wolves, Tom Cicero followed Buzea to Homewood-Flossmoor, where they spent 11 seasons. When Buzea had the opportunity to take the Crown Point job in 2021, he said he “made sure Tom actually was going to come with me.”
Tom Cicero did go. But he also still works at Homewood-Flossmoor, where he is in charge of its credit recovery program and is an assistant athletics director.
“He’s obviously a top-notch offensive line coach, but he’s also our associate head coach, and he takes care of a lot of stuff,” Buzea said. “He’s fantastic at it. A 20-year run of coaching together like this, it doesn’t happen very often.”
Nolan Cicero hopes the Bulldogs can continue their run, which has included a state runner-up finish in 2023 and a semistate appearance last season.
“I feel like I’ve been playing good, but I definitely reflect on how I’m playing with those other guys on the line,” he said. “That line, we feed off of each other’s energy. If the morale’s low, we’re not going to have a good day. But if we’re all up and going, we’re good, so I try to get these guys going every day.
“We all play together. This team’s special, for sure. We just do things the right way. We’re always playing together no matter how hard it is. No matter what we go through, we’re together. I’m just blessed to be part of this program. We’re going to keep doing what we do, keep playing Bulldog football, and it should be a good season.”
Nolan Cicero will be in the middle of it.
“I would definitely start out with Nolan’s work ethic,” Fantin said. “He’s been the same size since probably eighth grade or freshman year, but the difference between then and now is incredible. That’s all from him constantly putting in work. Every time I’m in the weight room, he’s there too. He doesn’t skip out.
“It’s funny because I used to kind of think he was a big softy back in his freshman year. He couldn’t do pushups, and I was benching more than him. Now, though, he’s definitely a dude that I do not want to mess with. He’s all business on the football field and in the weight room.”