Herzlich had Bruschi's support in cancer recovery

INDIANAPOLIS - The extensive medical testing at the NFL Scouting Combine was no big deal for Mark Herzlich, the linebacker from Boston College and Conestoga High.

After a well-publicized fight with Ewing's sarcoma, which caused him to miss the 2009 season and left him with a foot-long titanium rod in his left leg, Herzlich is used to being prodded and scrutinized by doctors. He welcomed the combine medical regimen, since some observers were saying it was a key to his draft prospects. Teams are very interested in how his affected leg moves, Herzlich said.

Herzlich returned to the field in 2010 but was not back to his game-changing 2008 level, when he was Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year. Herzlich said he has gotten dramatically stronger and quicker over the past month or so, as he continues his recovery. Draft projections have him going anywhere from the second to the seventh round, depending on how teams see his upside, as Herzlich attempts to recapture the strong potential he possessed before his illness. For a 4-3 team such as the Eagles, he probably would be a strongside linebacker, at 6-4, 244.

Herzlich spoke yesterday of how much the encouragement offered by former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi meant to him. Bruschi returned to football after suffering a stroke.

"Tedy reached out to me first. I remember the date - September 29, 2009 - because that was also the date I was told I no longer had cancer," Herzlich said. "One thing he told me that night, he said, 'Mark, you're a survivor now. Be proud of being a survivor.'

"Those are words that have stayed with me throughout the whole process. To me, that meant, 'Get your story out there. Raise as much money as you can. Be helpful to other people.' He was that way to me. He does his charity work still. I played in his golf tournament last summer . . . So, I still stay in touch with him all the time. I help coach at his camp. He's a great guy. He's definitely an inspiration and a motivator."