Bucknell University Athletics
He's a Gamer
10/6/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 6, 2007
By Jillian Jakuba, Bucknell Athletic Communications
The phrase "he's a gamer" has been uttered on countless occurrences over time as a way to describe tough, hard-nosed players who take whatever is thrown at them and play through almost anything. Although it is a bit cliché, it's hard not to think of the term after hearing Bucknell running back Josh DeStefano recount his football career.
"It's interesting how things played out, since I never really missed games in high school or had too many injury problems," recalls the senior fullback. "It all started back when I was a senior in high school, I strained my hamstring pretty badly during practice and ended up going out and playing in an all-star game with it, which resulted in an ankle injury. That carried over into my freshman year here, because I didn't find out until right before I got to Bucknell. I went straight from that to a broken thumb freshman year."
However, that wouldn't stop DeStefano from earning a spot in the lineup as a rookie. With his thumb in a cast, he started the final four games of the season for the Bison and not only played, but made an impact, finishing the season as the team's fourth-leading rusher with 243 yards on 53 carries. He also caught eight passes for 118 yards and was named the team's most outstanding newcomer in 2004.
The challenges continued for DeStefano over his sophomore and junior seasons.
"Sophomore year it was shin splints, and then last year I had a stress fracture in my foot and I fractured my back," he continues, like a soldier giving an inventory of his battle scars. `'It's a little challenging going through it all and having to fight through the injuries. At the same time, was it worth it? I definitely think it was. I thought I had a pretty decent season in 2006 considering what I dealt with. It's not the easiest thing to do, but in this sport you know you are going to be injured so you just have to battle through."
"Decent" is a modest understatement by DeStefano in describing his junior campaign. Last season, he posted a career high with 643 rushing yards and three touchdowns, earning him Second Team All-Patriot League recognition. His back injury only kept him out of the lineup for one week as he appeared in 10 of the team's 11 games, starting nine.
Then, at the start of the 2007 season, DeStefano was forced to face his biggest obstacle yet as a head injury sidelined him for Bucknell's first three contests. For the first time he needed to come to terms with something he couldn't use his toughness to play through.
"I think this year has definitely been the hardest for me," DeStefano admits. "Missing that many games in a row made it very difficult for me to watch my teammates get ready for a game knowing that I can't go out there with them and help them out. Of course I wanted to play, but at some point you have to be smart about things. The training staff, the coaches and I talked. Sitting out was the best thing for me. It was either miss a few games or miss the rest of the season if I got hurt again and I'd definitely rather just miss a few games, obviously. It was hard, especially not traveling and listening to the road games on the radio. It's a very different feeling going from starting to that."
DeStefano did all he could to remain connected during his time off the field this fall, even if it meant doing simple things like running errands to grab the scout book or other equipment for the coaches during practice.
"I'd do it just to feel like I had something to do with preparing for the next game," he says.
Not a moment too soon for DeStefano, he was cleared to practice and play in Bucknell's home contest against Richmond. Back where he feels most comfortable, in uniform and ready to take the field, DeStefano relished every moment, even if it meant some good-natured ribbing from his teammates.
"A lot of the guys were teasing me, saying `oh he has fresh legs, get him into the game'," DeStefano describes. "To be honest, I had a hard time getting back in shape because I hadn't been doing anything for quite some time. I wanted to come back for the Richmond game because I knew what a great team it was. I was able to prove to myself that I could overcome this and, knowing that I was able to take hard hits from a team like that definitely makes me feel good about where my head is at right now in the healing process that I've been going through."
True to his reputation, DeStefano was ready to compete against the Spiders, not an ounce of fear in him despite it being the first time back on the turf.
"It wasn't scary," he says "I wasn't really nervous, I guess because I've been there so often. It was more exciting to get out there and be able to help the team. I pretty much played the whole game with a smile on my face even though the score ended up being kind of out of control. I know I fumbled the ball and made a couple mistakes here and there, but it was just great to be out there again on the field, considering I missed our first three games. I just had so much fun."
Even though the Bison came up short against Richmond, DeStefano registered a solid performance with 45 yards in his season debut.
However, DeStefano wouldn't be human if he didn't have some reservations beforehand.
"During warm ups, I was having thoughts of `am I going to be able to take the hits?'" he admits. "I knew it was important for me to shake those doubts because I knew if I thought about it, I wouldn't play as hard and the chances of getting hurt again would increase. It may have been in the back of my head, but I was too busy concentrating on going to the right place, making the right reads and the right cuts. I knew I was going to get hit so I wasn't really concerned about it."
No matter what the rest of the 2007 season holds for DeStefano, he's determined to do whatever he can for the Bison. When you see him on the field, adding to his 1,228 career rushing yards, know that he has painstakingly earned every inch.
