Israel "Izzy" Abraham Named Head Football Coach
FITCHBURG, MA: Fitchburg State University's Athletics Director Matthew Burke announced today that Israel "Izzy" Abraham will be the next Head Coach of the Falcons football program. Coach Abraham's other duties will be the department's Recruiting Coordinator.
"We are excited to welcome Coach Abraham to Fitchburg State and have him lead our football program," stated Burke, "Izzy brings a wealth of coaching experience from multiple levels of college football as well as demonstrated success in recruiting from all over New England."
"It is an honor to be named the next head football coach at Fitchburg State University," stated Abraham, "My family and I are excited about the opportunity to join the Falcons family. I would like to thank Matt Burke and Laura Bayless for this opportunity and their support," he continued, "Many people from the Falcons community have already reached out with their support, and I could not be more excited to get to work with our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, and fans to provide the best Division III student-athlete experience as we pursue championships. Go, Falcons!" he concluded.
Coach Abraham comes to Fitchburg State after a second two-year stint at America International College (AIC) in Springfield, Massachusetts. While with AIC, he was the Associate Head Coach with a focus on special teams and running backs. Coach Abraham helped the team tie for 3rd in the nation in blocked punts. Coach Abraham's efforts helped the AIC program beat Bentley for the first time since 2014. During his first time with AIC, Abraham held multiple roles within the program. From 2017 to 2018, he was the Assistant Defensive Backs Coach, which transitioned into him becoming the Running Backs Coach and Recruiting Coordinator from 2018 to 2019.
Abraham's experience extends into Division I and the Patriot League with Holy Cross. He spent three years working with the Crusaders backfield, helping them secure three championships. Abraham's coaching helped Holy Cross have the league's top two rushers in 2019, earning them First Team All-Conferene Honors and producing the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since 1991.
Before Holy Cross, coach Abraham worked with the Clevland Browns in 2015 as an External Scout, grading prospects for the 2016 and 2017 drafts. Later, he continued working with NFL teams through the Bill Walsh Minority Internship, which started in 2016 with the Tennessee Titans. While with the Titans, he spent two months working with their running backs through training camp. Later in 2019, coach Abraham would get another opportunity with the Los Angeles Chargers, working with Alfredo Roberts and the Chargers running backs during mini-camp. His last stop through the Internship was in 2022 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Jacksonville, coach Abraham worked with the Tight Ends and assisted Richard Angulo during practices and individual drills.
Abraham's coaching experience started in 2012, with Stonehill College as the team's special teams coordinator and running backs coach. During his tenure with Stonehill, Abraham coached numerous First Team All-Conference backs and punters and coached in the 2013 NE-10 Conference Championship game. In 2015, he moved on to coach at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania for a season, where he assisted in building the offensive playbook.
Coach Abraham graduated from Endicott College with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and a minor in History. He also played at Endicott from 2008 to 2011 as a cornerback and fullback. During his time at Endicott, Coach Abraham was part of the 2010 team that claimed the DIII New England Football Conference Championship and made an NCAA tournament appearance. Coach Abraham now resides in Worcester, Mass, with his wife, Cara, and two children, Khyri and Callan.
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