Cecchini began his football career at Detroit's Pershing High School where he was selected as an all-city player in 1961.
He played 300 minutes, principally at linebacker, in Michigan's nine regular season games, helping the Wolverines to an 8–1 record and a Big Ten championship.
[4] At the end of the 1964 season he was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as a first-team linebacker on the 1964 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
[7] At the end of the 1965 season, he was selected by both the AP and UPI as a second-team player on the 1965 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
[8][9] After leaving Michigan, Cecchini played for the Ypsilanti Vikings of the Midwest Football League[10] and was selected as a first-team, all-league linebacker in 1967.
The News investigation also criticized Goss for following Cecchini's advice concerning the installation of new electronic scoreboards at Michigan Stadium and Crisler Arena.