Injuries inevitably play a big part in just about any athlete's career and Lion strong safety Chris Cisar has found that out the hard way.
After a star-studded career at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Cisar burst onto the collegiate scene in 1988, appearing in every game. He was one of two "true" freshman to letter on defense. The instant success he experienced his freshman year led to lofty aspirations.
"Coming off of my freshman year, I was looking forward to starting (at free safety)," Cisar said.
Then the injury factor came into effect.
A dislocated wrist during preseason practice in 1989 knocked Cisar out of action and he ended up taking a medical redshirt. In his absence, a guy by the name of Darren Perry took over Cisar's coveted position and ended up becoming the Lions' top defensive back in 1990 and 1991.
And while Cisar appeared in every game in 1990 as Perry's back-up, the injury bug bit him again last season. After playing extensively in Penn State's 21-10 loss to USC, Cisar underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and missed the next six games. And frustration had clearly set in.
"When I came here I played a lot as a freshman," Cisar said. "I missed my sophomore year and then my junior and senior year I played behind Darren. It was frustrating."
Cisar considered skipping his final year of football eligibility so he could concentrate on baseball, as he is one of Coach Joe Hindelang's star pitchers for the baseball team. But ironically, another injury (a jammed shoulder he incurred while pinch-running) steered Cisar back to football.
"There were times when I thought maybe I should just play baseball," Cisar said. "But when I got hurt, I started thinking about football. It seemed that no matter what I did I couldn't stay healthy. But I didn't want to go out on a bad note."
So Cisar came back for his final season. And so far he's been singing nothing but happy tunes.
He started the season as strong safety Lee Rubin's back-up but, wouldn't you know it, Rubin went down with an ankle injury and Cisar has stepped into the starting position. He has performed well enough that Coach Joe Paterno has said Rubin, who led the Lions in tackles a year ago, now must earn his starting position back.
"Chris Cisar has done a good job," Paterno said. "I have no problems whatsoever with Chris Cisar being in there."
And for Cisar, the success has been a long time coming.
"My career has been long and a little frustrating," Cisar said. "Now it's finally starting to pay off for me."
Self-described as "one of the slowest guys in the defensive backfield," Cisar relies on his smarts more than his speed to stymie opposing passing attacks. And thus far, Cisar and his backfield mates have done a good job of doing just that, holding opposing teams to less than 100 yards passing per game.
But against Maryland, the secondary will face its biggest challenge thus far. The Terrapins' run-and-shoot/no-huddle attack will test the defense at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Beaver Stadium.
"We're going to have to be ready to play," Cisar said. "They got off 100 plays last week and most of us are only used to playing 60 in the whole game. It's going to be a challenge but we're looking forward to it."
Another challenge Cisar will face in the coming weeks is that of Rubin trying to win his job back. But as Cisar says, "my philosophy is to never look back."
And even if Rubin does reclaim his starting position, Cisar has no regrets about his decision to return to the football team
"I'm happy with the decision I made," Cisar said. "I think I made the right decision."
After the football season is over, Cisar will return to the diamond to pitch one more year for the Lions. Arguably one of Hindelang's best starting pitchers, Cisar might have a professional baseball career in his future.
"If I get drafted it would be nice to make my hobby my job," Cisar said.
