This past Sunday, a man officially stepped away from the considerable shadow that he cast in Boston College’s Alumni Stadium and onto the FedEx Field turf in our nation’s capital for his first career game as a professional football player. This linebacker, making his debut on special teams and wearing an unfamiliar No. 58 red, white, and blue New York Giants uniform, took off down the field and in the process, left behind another set of doubters.
On Sept. 3, former Boston College Eagle Mark Herzlich received national attention, which has become the norm for him, but for an unusual reason: he didn’t hear his name called. The Giants phoned all the players they planned on releasing from their 53-man roster that day. His cell remained silent.
The recent BC graduate tweeted three minutes after the roster cut deadline, “Well it is 6:03 p.m. and I am still a Giant. God is good.”
The many ironies that the newly anointed No. 58 has brought about are almost as unbelievable as the rollercoaster ride that has landed Herzlich with the Giants. After signing as an undrafted free agent following the three-month NFL lockout, Herzlich has worked his way into a backup role with the Giants, behind none other than the man whom he inherited the No. 94 from on the Heights, Mathias Kiwanuka.
Herzlich’s sensational debut came fittingly on a day that Americans have come to think of as being synonymous with our culture of overcoming unthinkable odds—Sept. 11. Since being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma prior to his senior season in the summer of 2009, the linebacker has become an American symbol of not only facing adversity, but leaving it in a heap on the turf.
Upon revealing that Herzlich would not be one of his cuts, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin told ESPNNewYork.com’s Kieran Darcy, “Herzlich didn’t bat an eye the whole [training] camp. Physically, he did everything you asked and more. I saw him improve literally week by week. He can play multiple positions. He’s very smart. He does an outstanding job on special teams. He’s told one time and he goes and does it. He deserves it.”
And I urge you to ask yourself for a moment, can you think of anyone associated with football, college or the NFL, who deserves it more? No one comes to my mind.
But this isn’t meant to be a coronation of the next Eagle to take the NFL by storm, or a piece glorifying achievements that have already been covered more effectively in much more public arenas.
The Giants lost in Herzlich’s debut to the Washington Redskins, 28-14. The former Eagle did not register a tackle or a stat.
The team had lost its starting middle linebacker and its top backup linebacker to torn ACLs in a two-week stretch, enabling Herzlich to climb the depth chart to where he is currently perched behind Kiwanuka. And the defense as a unit looked clueless in its finer moments to complement a sputtering, stagnant offense and a coach whose famous scowl doesn’t seem enough to rally his team any longer.
The one positive takeaway, at least from a BC perspective, is Herzlich. There’s nothing more intriguing than watching people continue to doubt someone who has conquered cancer, gone undrafted, survived an NFL lockout, faced ever-present concerns about his lack of speed, and outlasted veterans with infinitely more knowledge of the playbook and league (the Giants chose not to bring back experienced linebackers Chase Blackburn and Keith Bulluck).
What more do you want from the man…that was a rhetorical question, don’t answer that.
I want Herzlich to not only remain with the Giants, but drop back into coverage next weekend against the St. Louis Rams and intercept quarterback Sam Bradford to ice their first win of the year as he did so many times for the Eagles.
Go ahead, doubt him one more time. I dare you.