Boston College Linebacker Tackles Cancer
Written by B-Dub, Wednesday January 27 2010
With all the negative stories surrounding college football these days (The Fraudulent BCS system, Coaches leaving, Recruiting violations) I thought I would actually write about something positive. That something positive is Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich.
Herzlich practiced last week with his Boston College teammates for the first time in almost a year. Although it was just off-season weight training and seven-on-seven drills in shorts and T-shirts, it was still inspirational.
Herzlich was the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year in 2008, intercepting six passes, which led the nation for linebackers. But in May 2009 he announced that he would miss the 2009 season after being diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer found in the bone or soft tissue. He finished radiation treatments in August and chemotherapy in November. Now he's back on the field with his teammates in January after doctors told him there are no lingering effects of the cancer or its treatment other than the hair loss that is now starting to grow back. He is being checked every three months just to be sure.
Herzlich returned to school in the fall while finishing up his treatments. He was even on the BC sideline during games and ran out of the tunnel with the team this past season. Before games he would accept novelty donation checks from opposing schools for his chosen charity, Uplifting Athletes, which works with college athletes to raise awareness of rare diseases. To date, he has raised about $200,000 for the charity.
Herzlich has heard from other athletes who survived cancer like Lance Armstrong and Jon Lester and he is eager to pass on encouragement to others who have been diagnosed with cancer. He has even spoken to families of kids with cancer who have written to him. He offers an autograph or words of encouragement to anyone who asks. He has also helped with recruiting and welcoming freshman to the BC campus. "I like this being part of me," Herzlich said. "It's something that's exciting, in that I get to be able to help other people."
"That's the kind of stuff that goes unnoticed, because it's not tackles and sacks," BC Coach Frank Spaziani said. "He's talked with guys, tried to work with them, tried to coach them. He's just a leader, and although he's not playing and participating, he's certainly doing a lot of that leadership on the field."
But Herzlich is hoping that he can make an even bigger contribution on the field in pads next season. Herzlich was an NFL prospect before the cancer and will be again if he stays cancer free in his senior year at BC. Right now he's just trying to get back into football shape. The risk of injury isn't from the cancer, it's from the lack of conditioning after a year out of the game.
BC Linebacker Mike Morrissey thinks his teammate will be just fine. "Never doubt Mark," Morrissey said. "He's a special player. He's NFL-bound, and I think it's going to be a great career for him."
Coach Spaziani isn't ready to pencil in Herzlich as a starter for the opener just yet, but he is hopeful. "He's working at it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed," Spaziani said. In a sport dominated by greed of the BCS I think it's safe to assume that we all have our fingers crossed that a player like Mark Herzlich makes it all the way back.
Tags:
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2 comments
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I'm sure I saw the title a while ago, but I didn't have the time to read it. B-Dub showing his soft side? I guess that happens when you're not talking about your love/hate relationship with the Philly Eagles.
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I wanted to write a posititve article about the Eagles, but I had to use the Bsoton College Eagles, since the Philadelphia Eagles once fired a woman for having cancer.