Szczur a variety star

Matt Szczur is a man of many consonants, and a man with many roles on Villanova's football team.

Szczur (pronounced SEE-zur) is the NCAA Championship Subdivision's version of Clemson's C.J. Spiller. Listed as a receiver, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder has compiled eight rushing touchdowns, four receiving scores, two touchdown passes and a kickoff-return touchdown entering Friday night's FCS title game against Montana.

The Colonial Athletic Association tabbed Szczur as its player of the year on offense and special teams.

"Matt is a very special guy," Wildcats coach Andy Talley said. "He's on every special team we have, and he warms your heart when you see this terrific offensive player running down on kickoffs to be the first one down making tackles."

Szczur, a junior from Erma, N.J., doesn't limit his versatility to the football field. In 2007, he was drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 38th round.

This past spring, Szczur led Villanova with a .346 batting average and amassed 10 doubles and 24 RBIs.

"We will always take athletic guys," Dodgers farm director De Jon Watson said. "You can tell by the Matt Kemps and the Dee Gordons, and we took Melvin Ray, who was a top receiver recruit for Alabama. We like those high-end athletes, and Szczur is pretty athletic."

Szczur doesn't have a preference when it comes to his football duties. He was in the wildcat formation last Friday night when he produced the biggest play of Villanova's season, racing 62 yards for a touchdown with 9:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The Wildcats were trailing William & Mary 10-0 before Szczur broke free, and his run ignited Villanova's 14-13 semifinal triumph.

"They loaded the corner(back) and put him in the box," Szczur said. "As soon as I got that kickout block, the only guy I needed to beat was the field safety, and he wasn't even close because we loaded the guys on the right side and he thought I was going to the right, and we went to the left. You could have heard a pin drop on our sideline until that play."

Said Talley: "We put the game on Matt's shoulders. If you give him the ball enough, he's going to make some really, really big plays for you."

Szczur ranks second on the Wildcats in receiving with 47 catches for 542 yards and is third in rushing with 94 carries for 654 yards, an average of 7 yards a carry. He is 4-for-4 on pass attempts out of the wildcat for 22 yards and two touchdowns, and he averages a healthy 27.6 yards on kickoff returns.

"He's involved in every package, and we like to get the ball to him 12 to 15 times a game," Talley said. "I would like to get it to him more, but he's on special teams, so he plays a third of the game on those teams as well."