Mark Jensen of the Philly Inquirer wrote a nice feature on Matt Szczur covering a lot of things that you may not know about one of our favorite Villanova athletes. Here's the condensed version:
- "Szczur was born a little different."When the doctor pulled him out, he stretched out - he's got biceps, calf muscles. He had definition," said his father, Marc. "I was like, 'What do we have here, Arnold Schwarzenegger?' "
- "The first year Szczur was allowed to pitch in Little League, after T-ball, he threw no-hitters in his first three games"
"Szczur didn't have any football offers other than Villanova. Part of that is because he'd gone to Villanova's camp since eighth grade and when the school offered a scholarship for football and baseball, Matt didn't see a reason to even visit anywhere else."
"He comes back here [this fall] for football camp, and after all that acclaim [playing in the Cubs organization], and says, 'I need to be in football shape right now.' He's as gung-ho and full-bore as he ever was," Flinn said. "He wants to be on the kickoff team. He's adamant. He goes to our special-teams coach: 'Put me in the same spot. I came here to play football. That's what I do. I run down and make tackles on kickoffs.' "
"A fifth-round draft choice by the Cubs this year, Szczur said he really enjoyed playing baseball for a living. The Cubs, realizing they are in a competition, treated him more like a first-round draft choice, bringing him to Wrigley Field for a game. Szczur got a $100,000 signing bonus from the Cubs but he gets another $500,000 next February if he chooses baseball over football. This whole experience really gave him a new outlook, he said. He could see himself playing pro baseball."
"Szczur hit in 21 straight games as an outfielder this summer in the Cubs organization, although he'd never used a wooden bat for a full season before."
"That said, Szczur's thinking is that football offers him an immediate chance to make the big leagues, and draw a big-league salary. If he stayed healthy and played well, he'd probably be on his second NFL contract by the time he reached the major leagues in baseball, Szczur said. "It's a no-brainer, financially," he said."
"When NFL scouts show up at Villanova, the coaches will tell them the exact same thing: You will want him on your team."
