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Mark Herzlich Beats Cancer, Returns to Practice: What Should We Expect in the Fall?

Jan 22, 2010, 8:00 PM UTC

I join in the chorus of voices ecstatic to see Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich return to practice after recovering from Ewing’s sarcoma. It was fine enough that his recovery brought College GameDay to Chestnut Hill in the fall, but him looking healthy and able is even better, and already has some talking about him being a boost to the Eagles’ hopes in 2010.â†µâ†µBut is expecting anything expecting too much?â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s not a matter of diminishing Herzlich’s personal courage or fortitude. Cancer is awful -- and Herzlich’s especially rare -- and for Herzlich to feel well enough to play football is a triumph. The money he has helped raise for charity is a victory. Winning an ACC championship? That almost seems like too much optimism. â†µ

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â†µSo it's nice that BC Interruption is salivating at the prospect of a linebacking corps anchored by Herzlich again. It just doesn't seem terribly fair. â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Brian: What do you expect Herzlich’s contribution to be next year?â‡¥â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥â‡¥Jeff: I am expecting another Defensive Player of the Year type performance out of Herzlich next year. I don’t have a ton of experience with people recovering from cancer and returning to sports at such a high level but we can point to Lance Armstrong and Mario Lemieux as examples of athletes that were able to come back and return to the same level as they were at before leaving their respective sports temporarily. I would also think that with Mark being healthy and back on a full workout schedule now, he has plenty of time to get ready for football in September.â‡¥â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µComparing Herzlich to Armstrong and Lemieux, two top-five athletes in their respective sports, borders on absurdity based on athletic merit. Comparing his battle with cancer to theirs seems quite unfair. For Armstrong, almost three years elapsed between his last round of chemo and his first Tour de France win; Lemieux played in an NHL game and scored on the day of his last radiation treatment. Herzlich would need to split the difference, return to football less than a year after his last treatment. â†µâ†µ
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â†µâ†µBut why must he be thrust into that discussion? Expecting a level of athletic achievement -- any level -- seems to me to be expecting a lot of Mark Herzlich. As a college football fan, I’ll be happy enough to see him run onto the field in full uniform. I’ll also guess that the demands Herzlich has for himself are probably greater than anyone has externally. â†µ

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â†µâ†µWhy add to that by expecting the 2008 Herzlich, and set yourself up for disappointment in a guy who beat cancer? It’s a catch-22, of course: A healthy Herzlich should be expected to be the monster he was (110 tackles, six interceptions, two touchdowns) in 2008, but how do we define healthy? Is this like missing a year to an injury? Is a long-term recovery from cancer like a nagging injury? Should we expect full speed ahead from the spring game on?â†µ

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â†µâ†µI think trying not to ask much of Herzlich is the best approach here. Give him a chance to answer on his own terms, in his own time. He will.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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