BOSTON (AP) — Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich has returned to the field for Saturday’s season-opener against Weber State after missing the entire 2009 season while recovering from cancer.
Herzlich, the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year, missed last year as he underwent treatment for a rare form of cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma.
He led the team out of the tunnel — about 10 yards ahead of the rest of his teammates — and took his helmet off and looked up into the student section, spreading his arms wide, as the crowd roared.
He played on the Eagles’ firstr defensive play, when Weber State ran the ball to the opposite side of the field.
He missed part of training camp with a stress fracture in his right foot.
