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Szczur healthy for Villanova's postseason run

With a whole bunch back from a 14-1 FCS national-title team, Villanova probably didn't expect to lose four of its first 10 games this season. But the Wildcats also didn't anticipate playing most of the season without the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association offensive and special teams player of the year, either.

Senior Matt Szczur, left, has missed most of the season for Villanova with an ankle injury. (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)
Senior Matt Szczur, left, has missed most of the season for Villanova with an ankle injury. (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)Read more

With a whole bunch back from a 14-1 FCS national-title team, Villanova probably didn't expect to lose four of its first 10 games this season. But the Wildcats also didn't anticipate playing most of the season without the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association offensive and special teams player of the year, either.

Senior Matt Szczur, who played minor league baseball in the summer after being drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round, suffered a high left-ankle sprain on the first snap against Penn on Sept. 25. He re-aggravated the injury several weeks later. So he didn't play again until the Nov. 20 finale at No. 1 Delaware, which the Wildcats had to win just to get in the playoffs. And he only played in the first half, carrying three times for 24 yards.

"Even though I didn't play much, I felt like I did so much," Szczur said. "Just because I was in pads."

And the Wildcats (7-4) beat the Blue Hens for the fifth consecutive time, this time in overtime. So they're still breathing. Tomorrow afternoon, they'll be in Nacogdoches, Texas, to meet third-ranked Stephen F. Austin (9-2), the Southland Conference champion. Both teams had first-round byes. The winner likely will go to No. 1 Appalachian State next week.

Szczur is just about fully recovered. And this is what he came back for.

"It was pretty frustrating, not really producing how I wanted to produce," he said. "I was more or less watching. I didn't really feel like a part of the team, either at practice or games. No matter how much I say, it really doesn't matter when they're out there giving their all and I'm just on the sidelines. It's so hard.

"[Wide receivers coach Brian Flinn] would tell me all the time, 'Say something to get those guys going.' But there's only so much you can say. That's how I felt."

Now, he can contribute something tangible. It could be a difference-maker.

"To be honest, losing and winning were both tough on me," said the Most Outstanding Player of last December's title-game victory over unbeaten Montana. "If you lose, you know you could have helped if you'd been out there. But when we won, I wanted to have the feeling that everyone else had. It's not the same. I was excited, but I didn't do anything. I wasn't jealous or anything. I just wanted to be part of it. I'm a competitor. You see all those guys doing good, you want to do just as well as them. That's what I missed."

He could have walked away, taken his ring and pursue a baseball career. He left a lot of money on the table. But he's left pro football open as an option. In late January, he and teammate Ben Ijalana, who's projected as the first FCS offensive lineman to be taken (perhaps in the second round), are going to the Senior Bowl. At the moment, Szczur looks like a mid-rounder. But things can change. At some point, he'll have a decision to make. Until then, he just wants to accomplish as much as he can before this part of his life ends.

"I didn't want to be selfish [against Delaware]," Szczur said. "I wasn't 100 percent. So somebody else could be out there who would give us a better chance. This week, with the extra rest, it shouldn't be a problem. I can't wait. It was a big deal just for me to run through a normal practice. That fired me up.

"Of course, I think we can make a run. We just won at one of the hardest places to play. If everyone stays healthy, I don't see why we couldn't. The only reason is if we beat ourselves. I actually kind of like being away, being the underdog. We know how to go away and win. It's a new season. The records don't matter anymore. Everyone's starting out the same."

All-time, the Wildcats are 0-6 on the road in the playoffs. But his point is duly noted. They've won their last three against a No. 1, twice on the road and the other vs. Montana in neutral Chattanooga, Tenn. And last year's Southland Conference champ, McNeese State, lost an opener at home last postseason to New Hampshire of the CAA.

And Villanova played perhaps the most difficult schedule in the country.

Did someone say re-energized?

"We're almost in the same boat as [Szczur] is," said coach Andy Talley. "For whatever reasons, we underachieved as a team this season. We all take responsibility for that. He didn't underachieve. He was unfulfilled. So, we're kind of the second-chance kids. Finally, we have an opportunity to defend a national championship. So much was expected of us. We just felt we were too good to get left out.

"At one point, he thought maybe there was a feeling amongst the coaches that he really didn't want to play. I said, 'Look, if you never play another second at Villanova, you're really a legend at our school. You don't have to prove anything to anybody.' Not only for the way he played, but for his humanitarianism.''

As a freshman, Szczur had registered with other first-year Wildcats in the National Bone Marrow Donor Program. Last November, Szczur learned he was a match for a 1-year-old girl with leukemia. There was a chance he would undergo a harvesting procedure in mid-December, which he was willing to do. As it turned out, that didn't occur until May.

"He was willing to give up playing for the national championship,'' Talley said.

And at least there's every chance to make the most of what's still out there. For as long as it lasts.