Penn State Backup QB Shares Powerful Story that Saved his Football Career

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Matt Campbell's decision to leave Iowa State for Penn State proved to be much bigger than just a decision for himself. On Tuesday, Penn State shared the story of backup quarterback Alex Manske, whose life was quite literally saved by his onboarding at Penn State. 

Manske was one of the many Iowa State players who transferred from Iowa State to Penn State when Campbell made the move. When the new players got to Penn State, they were put through a very extensive physical examination to make sure they were good to go.

Manske, who came to Happy Valley feeling healthy and ready to go, but his physical exam told a different story. His heart exam "popped," which revealed that he had an abnormality that was possibly concerning.

That led to more tests that revealed a dilated aortic root and a dilated ascending aorta. The blood vessels that led into and out of his heart were enlarged to the point where Director of Sports Medicine Joe Resendez said that he was over the threshold for this condition to even work out or do physical activity.

After a transfer to the Mayo Clinic and some additional testing, it became very clear that Manske was going to need open-heart surgery in order to ever have the chance to play football again.

Manske spent five days at the hospital recovering from the obviously massive surgery and trauma that his body experienced. 

While he was away from the team, it was the perfect opportunity for the Penn State staff to exercise their care for the whole person. They made sure that he still felt a part of the team and that he was a legitimate member of the Nittany Lions.

They zoomed him into quarterback meetings, they called him in for team meetings, they watched film with him, and they did as much as they could while he was away to make sure he felt that he was still a part of the team. 

It wasn't long after that he returned to the team and got the all-clear from the doctor, making him good to go for practice. 

Quarterback's coach Jake Waters recalled getting the chills when Manske took his first snap at practice. 

Manske's process and his yearning to compete are what got him back before anyone thought he could. Now, he stares down the season ahead after clearing the most adversity that any young man could possibly face. 

Manske may or may not factor into the Nittany Lions season this year, but if he does, he is going to have the belief of his teammates, knowing that there is no adversity that he can't overcome, is a powerful thing. 

He's got a new fan in me and he will soon have countless ne fans in all of Happy Valley.

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