The sweltering heat and grueling workouts were starting to take a toll on the football team as the end of summer practices neared.

“Guys were tired, sore, hurting — we had a bad day at practice on the second to last day,” senior defensive lineman Anthony DiTommaso explains.

But Head Coach Kevin Kelly did not have to worry; he had Nick Umar on the field. Umar, donning the No. 35 Eacobacci Memorial Jersey he was awarded this year for his leadership qualities, was born for these situations. He called a couple teammates aside individually before practice and then brought the team up together right before they took the field to set them straight.

“On that final day of practice, we had the best day of the summer, and it was all because of Nick,” DiTommaso says.

Umar knew that his team, which won just one game last year and faces a brutal schedule this season, could not afford to have another bad day.

“There’re not enough opportunities to get out here and get ready for the season to have a bad [practice] like that,” he says.

It is almost expected that No. 35 will bring Georgetown together on the gridiron. For the past six years, the number has been worn by the player that best epitomizes the spirit and leadership of former Hoya Joe Eacobacci (COL ’96).

Eacobacci, an energy trader with the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, was on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower when the building was hit by a plane in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In addition to excelling on the field — he had 183 career tackles as a defensive back and linebacker — Eacobacci got along with everyone on the team.

“He had more friends than anybody, and that was what made him a beautiful person,” former Head Coach Bob Benson told THE HOYA in the weeks after Eacobacci’s death. “Joe was loved by everybody — coaches, teammates, teachers, administrators. Everybody loved Joe.”

Eacobacci’s older brother Tom Eacobacci (MSB ’93), who also played football for Georgetown, said over 3,000 people were at his brother’s funeral.

The Hoyas dedicated the 2001 season to Eacobacci, wearing his number and the American flag on their helmets. In 2003, senior strong safety Matt Fronczke (COL ’04) was the first Hoya to don the memorial jersey with Eacobacci’s number.

Since Fronczke, four Hoyas have worn the prestigious jersey. In 2004 and 2005, the number 35 could be found on the back of Michael Ononibaku (MSB ’06), one of the Patriot League’s top defensive ends. Then it went to Alex Buzbee (COL ’07), a defensive lineman who became the first Hoya in over 50 years to break into the NFL, and last season was worn by its first linebacker, Stephen Smith (MSB ’08).

Umar was close with the previous three who wore the jersey, and said that all three congratulated him when Kelly announced that he would be wearing the jersey at the spring football banquet. All of them, Umar says, also reminded him that it is a big responsibility.

Buzbee, who will miss his second season with the Washington Redskins after rupturing his Achilles tendon, understands what it means to wear the blue and gray 35.

“It is not one of those awards that you hang on the wall,” Buzbee said. “You wear it on your back every time out and you want to live up to that responsibility.”

“I think all of our players come here with the goal to wear that 35 jersey,” Kelly says. “It’s like being picked captain — it’s an honor that you have.”

While Umar thought that the jersey could have gone to any number of veteran leaders on the team, Kelly says that Umar was an easy choice.

“He’s looked up to by every single one of us on the team, he’s the best leader we’ve got, and he’s the hardest working kid on the team,” said DiTommaso, Umar’s roommate since freshman year and one of his closest friends. “He’s always one of the first ones out here and one of the last ones to leave.”

“The thing with Nick,” Kelly adds, “is that he’s consistent. He’s been doing these things ever since I got here.”

Umar also embodies Eacobacci’s outgoing personality.

“Nick is easy to get along with,” DiTommaso says. “Young guys, as soon as they get here, look right up to him, and he takes them under his wing, shows them around.”

As easy as it is for Umar to get along with his teammates, the road to success on the field will be difficult this year.

In Umar’s first three seasons on the Hilltop, the Hoyas have compiled a 7-28 record, and only have three wins in the last two years.

Non-conference dates with Ivy-Leaguers Yale and Pennsylvania promise to be stiff tests — Georgetown has only one win over an Ivy in the last 90 years. The season opener against Howard, just two weeks away, could be another game in which the Hoyas are overmatched.

Umar understands the challenges that lie ahead, but is prepared to tackle them.

“Our goals are simple. We want to win the day everyday — every practice we want to win,” he says. “If we win everyday, we will take care of the small things and win the game.”

While some may expect the defensive back to increase his stats from last season — 19 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble — Umar talks about the team first even when discussing his personal goals for the season.

“I want to lead the team as best I possibly can, and get the most out of everyone on the team and myself,” he says.

It should come as no surprise at Georgetown that No. 35 puts leading his team as No. 1.