PSAC In Depth Featuring Gannon's Liam Nadler
By Mandy Housenick
There's no chance Liam Nadler will tell you this. He's far too modest and selfless to give you the impression that he's important, that what he's done is admirable, awe-inspiring and downright enviable.
So I'll be the one to tell you.
Nadler, a redshirt senior on Gannon's football team who is a four-year, record-setting starting quarterback, is the definition of what a role model should be.
OK, now you're thinking that those records are what make him so special. Not a chance. Those are just an added bonus to all he does off the field.
Nadler earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 3 ½ years with a 3.87 GPA and now is working on his MBA. He has been chosen as one of 22 student-athletes named to the 2015 Allstate AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Good Works Team.
In its 24th year, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team is comprised of student-athletes who have used their limited free time to perform inspirational acts of service. This summer, the program received an all-time record 197 nominations from colleges and universities across the country. The Good Works Team is comprised of 11 student-athletes from NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A) programs and 11 from NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA), Division II, Division III and NAIA programs.
Since being established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team has highlighted the importance of community service and volunteerism.
“Nothing in excess. I try to live by that, making sure my life is balanced with school, community service, football and friends and family,” Nadler said. “I know football is just a game and at some point in my life I will have to stop playing it. Academics and learning are good. To be knowledgeable is good. Those things are much more important than some silly game we play. That's not to detract from my love of football. It's still my passion. But what I do in the classroom and the community puts it all in perspective.
“I have hoped I have made a difference in people's lives for the better.”
There's no doubt Nadler fits the bill for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
Nadler's volunteer efforts include working with local youth at Erie's Martin Luther King Center and St. Benedict's Kids Café, the Gridley Park spring clean-up days and the annual University GIVE (Gannon's Invitation to Volunteer Everywhere) Days.
In addition, every summer he and other members of the football team play in a wheelchair basketball game with patients from Shriner's Hospital for Children in Erie.
“Imagine big football players in wheelchairs going up and down the court with these 8- and 9-year olds,” Nadler said. “It's great fun. Those kids tear us up, up and down the court.”
Perhaps the most touching community service event Nadler organized was a mouth swabbing event designed to encourage people to be bone marrow applicants. It's something that hits close to home for Nadler, who had a classmate diagnosed with cancer during the fall of 2014. With assistance from staff members at Gannon's Health and Counseling Services Center, Nadler contacted the Be The Match regional office of the National Marrow Donor Program to arrange for a screening activity at Gannon. Those talks eventually led to three separate Be The Match bone marrow donor screening activities on Gannon's campus with just more than 200 individuals participating and adding their DNA to the registry.
Not long ago, Nadler was told he was a potential match for a little boy with leukemia. Blood was drawn, and he's currently waiting to see if he's a definite match.
“When we had that many people take part, it felt like I was actually making a difference,” Nadler said. “It was a really, really good experience. Now I am hoping so much I can help save someone's life.”
Nadler has done a lot to help Gannon's football team. He picked up his second career PSAC Top 10 Award last year after previously being one of two quarterbacks in the country named to the Capital One Academic All-America teams. A two-time Academic All-District first-team selection, Nadler has been named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award every year during his college career.
He became the Golden Knights' all-time total offense leader, breaking Gannon Hall of Famer Darmel Whitfield's (2001-04) record. He currently has 10,534 career yards of total offense. In addition, he owns the NCAA Division II record for pass attempts without an interception. His streak of 312 passes came to an end Oct. 3 when he threw one interception against Slippery Rock.
Nadler, 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, is the owner of nearly every Gannon passing record, including pass attempts (1,301), pass completions (764), passing yards (9,881), 300-yard games (14), 200-yard games (26) and passing touchdowns (72).
“It's nice to have a kid who has done it for this long,” Gannon coach Brad Rzyczycki said. “It's nice to have a kid well respected by his peers for his statistics and for what he's done off the field. He doesn't have to demand respect; he does it by his actions.
“The great thing about his habits is it's carrying down to the younger kids now. That's where their aspiration is. You need people like Liam to be able to develop your culture. We're hoping to have another Liam someday soon. He understands work ethic and what it takes to be a good person.”
You can vote for Nadler to be captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team here:
Vote For Liam Nadler
Mandy Housenick is a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She spent 13 years as a sports writer, including almost 10 at The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., where she covered high school, college and pro sports. Highlights include having been the Phillies beat writer from 2009-13, having covered multiple NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, four Phillies playoff runs, including the 2008 and 2009 World Series, and having appeared as a guest on radio and TV shows, including Comcast SportsNets' Daily News Live and Philly Sports Talk.