Andrew Joseph Szczerba (born July 16, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He was a member of the Penn State Nittany Lions college football team for five seasons, but only played in three due to injury. After a senior college football season in which he faced adversity with the killing of his uncle, Szczerba signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent after the 2012 NFL draft. After the Cowboys released him, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons and was a member of the Falcons' practice squad during the second half of the 2012 NFL season.
 Andrew Szczerba in 2013 | |
| No. 80, 85 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 16, 1988 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Weight: | 256 lb (116 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Salesianum School (Wilmington, Delaware) |
| College: | Penn State |
| Undrafted: | 2012 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editSzczerba was born on July 16, 1988, in Wilmington, Delaware, to parents Edward and Florence (McCorkle) Szczerba. He and his fraternal twin, Julianna, are the youngest of five children. He attended Salesianum School and played football there leading his team to two state championships in 2005 and 2006 and playing both tight end and defensive end. Szczerba was selected the 2006 Gatorade Player-of-the-Year in Delaware and earned first-team all state honors both offensively and defensively.[1]
Szczerba comes from a football family background. Ed, his father, was a first-team All-State tight end on Salesianum's 1972 state championship team. His late uncle, Joe Szczerba, played football at Sallies and West Chester University and also has another uncle who played Division I-AA college football.[2]
College career
editRecruiting
edit| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Szczerba TE |
Wilmington, Delaware | Salesianum School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | 4.8 | Aug 13, 2006 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
Penn State linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden was Szczerba's primary recruiter. He also received offers from eventual Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien while O'Brien was an assistant at Duke, as well as from Maryland, Virginia Tech, and University of Virginia. He committed to play for the Nittany Lions on August 13, 2006.[3]
Penn State
editSzczerba attended Penn State University and played football under head coaches Joe Paterno and Tom Bradley during his five seasons with the program. After redshirting his freshman season, he appeared in every game during Penn State's 2008 and 2009 seasons.[1] He was primarily a contributor on special teams. After missing his junior season due to a back injury, there were expectations that Szczerba would have a successful senior season.[4] During his senior season, however, he faced adversity. On September 16, 2011, Szczerba's uncle, a New Castle County police officer, was killed in the line of duty while trying to apprehend a suspect in New Castle, Delaware. Even so, Szczerba did not miss any playing time, but commented that he was "taking it day by day".[5][6]
Professional career
editSzczerba went undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft, and signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Despite a solid training camp,[7] the Cowboys cut Szczerba on August 31, 2012, during final roster cuts.[8] The Atlanta Falcons signed him to their practice squad on November 13, 2012,[9] and he re-signed with the Falcons to a reserve/future contract on January 21, 2013.[10] He was waived on June 11, 2014.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b "Andrew Szczerba Profile". Penn State Official Athletic Site. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Ireland, Jack (February 10, 2012). "Szczerba still hoping for NFL dream". jackirelandblog.
- ^ "Andrew Szczerba". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Snyder, Audrey (August 30, 2011). "Tight end's return could boost offense". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved April 23, 2013.[dead link]
- ^ Kaplan, Jake (October 12, 2011). "Andrew Szczerba "taking it day by day" after recent family tragedy". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Snyder, Audrey (September 19, 2011). "Penn State defense finds footing in win". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved April 23, 2013.[dead link]
- ^ Auping, Jonathan (August 16, 2012). "Rookie TE Szczerba proves to be more than just a blocker". News & Blogs. Dallas Cowboys. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Archer, Todd (August 31, 2012). "Cowboys make roster moves, still two to go". Dallas Cowboys Blog - ESPN Dallas. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Yasinskas, Pat (November 13, 2012). "Falcons tinker with roster". NFL Nation Blog - ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Choate, Dave (January 21, 2013). "Falcons sign eight players to reserve/future contracts". The Falcoholic - SBNation.com. Vox Media. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ Wilkening, Mike (June 11, 2014). "Falcons waive two players". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved June 12, 2014.