Although Sonoma State hasn't suited up a football team since 1996, the accomplishments of the all-time SSU gridiron greats live on. This is undoubtedly true with local legend John Volpi.
A two-year performer at Sonoma State, in 1982 and 1983, Volpi holds numerous all-time rushing records, including: most rushing attempts in a season (211), most yards in a season (1,043), most touchdowns in a game (3), most touchdowns in a season (11), most attempts in a career (398), most yards in a career (1,678), and most touchdowns in a career (15).
After starring at Santa Rosa JC as a freshman and sophomore, Volpi transferred to SSU and made his presence felt immediately, rushing for 635 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 1982. His star burned even brighter the following year when SSU jumped into the highly competitve Northern California Athletic Conference.
Volpi put up 1,043 yards on the ground and found the endzone 11 imes as a senior in '83. He also had a memorable 79 yard run against Chico State that was tied for the longest rushing play in school history. Following the season, Volpi was named Second Team All-NCAC for his accomplishments.
The only player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in an SSU uniform, Volpi held a dominating edge over every other running back in the school's history. Proving this point is the fact that his career total of 1,678 yards is over 500 yards more than the second place rusher.
