The voice on the other end of the phone belonged to Dave Sousa, sounding like the proud father. Sousa is a proud father. Of his own children ... and the many who played for him back in the days he was coaching football at Waterford High.

"I think all of Waterford is proud right now," Sousa was saying, alluding to the latest news from UConn football, which has suddenly delivered itself — like a volcano — from irrelevance. The news: Billy Crocker, one of Waterford's favorite sons, is the new defensive coordinator at State U.

"(Sousa's son) Zack was little at the time and he was telling this story the other day," Sousa, now Waterford's athletic director, said. "Billy was a freshman when Waddy (Dave Waddington) was a senior and the quarterback. He was dating Billy's sister.

"When I was coaching," Sousa said, "I wanted the best athlete in every class. They'd bring five or six other good ones with them. Zack said, 'dad, you were killing Waddy trying to make Billy come out and play football.'"

Waddington and Sousa conspired for success. Crocker didn't merely play football. But he started as a freshman.

"He's starting in the secondary and not only that, he's making all the defensive calls," Sousa said. "As a freshman. That shows you the mind he had. As a senior, he was the quarterback. He didn't have the arm of Waddy, (Keith) Ciofi or (Paul) Gorra, but what he didn't have in skills, he made up for with intelligence."

Crocker graduated from Villanova in 2002 and later coached at the University of Albany, before returning to the Main Line. He was part of the staff that won the 2009 national championship. He spent 13 years at Nova until Randy Edsall came calling.

Now Crocker is coming home. ... where he learned so much.

"I can't really put into words how much they taught me," Crocker, a 1997 graduate of Waterford, said of his high school coaches during a recent interview. "Dave Sousa understood I was emotional and taught me how to channel that into playing football. I was making all of Cush's (Jim Cushner's) defensive calls and checks, which is obviously important for what I do today. And Rik (Little) was the calming influence, always reminding me to keep the composure I had a tendency to lose."

The late Bill Schmitz recruited Crocker to Coast Guard, where Crocker later played for Chuck Mills and Bob Estock before the Bill George Era began. George and Crocker spoke the other day.

"They're the ones who showed me this could be a career," Crocker said. "It always struck me how serious they were. They opened my eyes to the profession. This isn't some side job. I mean, I had no intention of going to Coast Guard. But the people around me saw the bigger picture of a great opportunity at a great academic place."

The Southeastern Connecticut Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame honored Crocker two years ago as its Person of the Year. His accomplishments since leaving Lancerville have been noteworthy.

But this? Back home? Hard to beat that one.

"He's a competitive guy to the point you can't imagine," Sousa said. "He started at Nova as the defensive line coach. There he is, about 5-8, standing and yelling at all these guys who are 6-10, 300. And he's like Zack. He has no problem telling someone they gotta get it done — and how to do it."

The Huskies begin next season at home against Holy Cross, the alma mater of former Waterford High baseball coach (and Crocker friend to his day) Jack O'Keefe. It'll be Waterford, Waterford everywhere on a late August night at Rentschler.

"It's like it's all connected," Sousa said. "We're all so happy."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.