Senior Derek Schatz was recognized at a special signing breakfast on Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. The Council Rock South senior has accepted a scholarship to play football at Villanova University.
Derek Schatz – Villanova University (Football)
Major: Sociology
Final list of college: Villanova, Colgate
Reasons for choosing Villanova: “I felt that Villanova was the place to be at the time. My brother went to Villanova, and my cousin goes there and plays on the offensive line. I just love the school, and I know I’ll be happy to be there. They came through at the last minute, and I had to decide.“From the beginning, I wanted to be there, and even though I still went to other schools, Nova was at the top of my list and never moved down.”
How exciting is it to know you’ll be playing for a school that won the National Championship this year? “It’s great. The coaches said, ‘There were expectations before. Now it’s expected for us to win the national championship.’ Hopefully, we can win again - hopefully for the next four years.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate football become a reality? “I started playing football when I was five. At first, it was just a little kid’s dream – ‘I want to play in the NFL.’ Alright, that’s impossible, but when I was in middle school, I started thinking of playing in college. I put my mind to it and never doubted that I wanted to play.”
How does it feel to realize your dream of playing college football? “It’s awesome. It’s like a dream come true. It all happened at once, and it feels like it worked out perfectly, even to just get the opportunity to play in college when some kids don’t have that chance.
“I definitely don’t take it for granted that I’ll play at the next level. I’m still going to play as hard as I did in high school, but it’s definitely a good feeling.”
Coach Vinnie Bedesem says: “Probably the number one thing that stands out about Derek is his work ethic and determination – it’s second to none. He played for us as a sophomore and played alongside Justin Pugh, and Justin is at Syracuse because of competing with Derek on a daily basis. He has just done an outstanding job – not to mention his leadership. Derek is the consummate leader. He gave us a lot of great leadership, which enabled us to have the successful year we had.”
- Log in to post comments
0
