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MITCHELL — Matt Schwaerzler is a familiar face around the Dakota Wesleyan University campus. He is an academic junior and a redshirt sophomore fullback on the Tigers, who missed all of last season with a knee injury suffered during spring camp last year.

“It was in spring ball practice in one-on-ones,” Schwaerzler said. “I was running out for a route, planted, and my knee buckled and popped. My ACL was torn completely. My meniscus was torn in like three spots. It required surgery, which I got a couple of months after, and then just recovering from there.”

Prior to the injury, Schwaerzler was coming off a sophomore season where he had seen action in eight games.

“It was just kind of crazy how everything happened because when you take a step back and your role in football decreases, and it’s like well how do I stay involved and do stuff I still love while being away from football?”

Getting back out on the field this spring has been a big relief for him.

“It’s absolutely incredible,” he said. “I’m very sore, granted. My body getting used to that again is tough. But being back out there with the guys and playing football and doing what I love — there’s nothing like it.”

But Schwaerzler did anything but stay in neutral while out injured. The sports management major jumped head first into covering sports for different outlets.

Along with being on the sidelines with his teammates on Saturdays, Schwaerzler interned with NAIAFBALL – where he was on the sidelines for Morningside’s NAIA national semifinal game against Northwestern.

“I had been helping them with social media and their show and a lot of back-end stuff, but being able to be there providing Twitter, video coverage, Tweets and interviews. Getting hands-on experience like that was super cool,” he said.

He also worked in the Sports Information Department for DWU following football season and worked basketball games and did several graphics for the sports. He said that last niche has become a specialty of his.

Schwaerzler also continues to run a video podcast with a friend of his back on the West Coast – Schwaerzler is from the Tacoma, Washington area – on the PAC 12 and is staying entrenched in media even as he steps back out onto the football field for the Tigers hoping to reclaim some of the playing time he saw before the injury.

The Spring game for DWU will be next Wednesday, April 13, at Joe Quintal Field at 6:30 p.m.