North Carolina State University Athletics
Program Spotlight: Matt Kushner
9/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Ryan Beck, NC State Media Relations
When life gets tough for NC State’s senior tight end Matt Kushner, all he has to do is think of his grandparents.
Growing up, Kushner knew his grandparents were in Poland during World War II, but he only found out the startling details recently.
“My grandfather never really talked about his time in Poland,” Kushner recalls. “I actually just discovered the real story about a year ago. I found out because a reporter in New Jersey wrote about his story and my grandfather showed me the newspaper. I had heard bits and pieces over the years, but that was the first time I’d known the whole story.”
Kushner’s pride in his grandfather is evident as he shares the amazing events of his life.
“When my grandfather was young in Poland, his whole family was torn apart when they were caught up in the blitzkrieg. His father was taken away by the Gestapo and then escaped from Poland and fought for England. He was in a co-op with Great Britain and Poland and ended up fighting in North Africa. When the war was over he came here.”
Unfortunately during World War II, there were many people in Europe that didn’t survive the war and the oppression that followed. Looking at what his grandparents went through, Kushner realizes how lucky he has been.
“It opened my eyes. I’m sitting here complaining about a knee injury, and he’s running for his life when he’s 15 years old,” says Kushner, who sat out most of last season rehabbing that knee. “He’s my role model. Whenever something is going wrong, I think of what he went through. My grandmother was in the same situation. She was in Poland doing forced labor. The fact that they made it through and still have a great outlook on life makes me just not complain as much.”
Growing up in a sports crazy state like Pennsylvania, Kushner played many different sports during his youth.
“In high school, I played football, basketball and competed in track & field. Growing up, sports was a big part of my life. Whether it was football, basketball, or baseball I was always playing some type of sport. I was outside all the time.”
In high school Kushner was recruited by schools such as Villanova and Boston College, but it was a prior connection to NC State that brought him to Raleigh.
“I was being recruited here by Chuck Amato who is actually from the same town as me. Also a high school teammate of mine, John Bedics, played football here. When I came down here for a visit, he told me what a great place this was. I love Raleigh and everything around here. There were some people I knew down here too which helped.”
After his redshirt freshman season, Kushner and his teammates had to come to terms with a coaching change. Even though Kushner was recruited to NC State by Amato, he has high praise for Coach O’Brien.
“I think Coach O’Brien is a great coach and is doing a great job with the program. He definitely has his ways and they’re working. He knows what he’s doing and is pushing us toward being a winning team.”
Football players are always at risk for serious injury. Kushner found out last season how tough it could be to miss significant playing time.
“During the second game against William & Mary, I was blocking and felt something snap in my leg. When it happened I knew right away that it wasn’t good, and that my season was probably over. It was hard, especially when I had to tell my parents. Just seeing everyone out there having fun and being successful, I wanted to be a part of it. We had a good season last year and I wanted to be a part of it. Watching us come back and beat East Carolina was great, but I wanted to be on the field, so it was rough.”
When he came to grips with the injury, Kushner put all of his effort into rehabbing. He admitted how tough it was to get back into shape.
“The off-season rehabilitation was a pain. I was trying to get back into shape so every morning I’m in there working out my leg. It was tough to get the leg back to normal.”
At the beginning of every season the slate is wiped clean from the previous year. While the team improved last year, Kushner has high hopes for the Wolfpack in 2009.
“As far as expectations for the team this year, I think we’ll do really well,” he continues. “I don’t want to say how many games we will win this year, but I feel like we will win a lot. As a player you want to go in thinking you have a chance to win every game on the schedule. Whether it turns out that way or not, I think the coaching staff will put us in the position to win. Our defense is looking great, along with the offense. I just think we have all the pieces to the puzzle. If we put it together we can win a lot of games.”
The Pack is in a position in which the team needs to rely heavily on Kushner, who is now among the team's oldest players. When looking at his personal goals, Kushner believes he will have a solid season.
“For myself, I’m expecting a good year. I can go out there and help the team with run blocking and I’m catching the ball a lot better. That’s one thing I worked on during my rehabilitation, watching the ball and working on my hands. With the extra time I had, I studied players running routes to see what I could do differently.”
While Kushner came to NC State to play football, he is also receiving a quality education that will help him in the future.
“I am majoring in interdisciplinary studies,” he said. “I wanted to do something related to sport management or communications, but I couldn’t make up my mind. Someone told me I could put them together in this major and it’s worked out pretty well. I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds. I’m getting the communication skills I need to work in a business setting. The sport management part is helping me understand the administration side. I’m putting it all together. I really feel like it has benefited me a lot.”
As Matt Kushner finishes his career at NC State he has a lot to be thankful for. He will be leaving NC State with a college degree, as he is on target to graduate in December. He was able to recover from a season-ending injury to don the Wolfpack jersey for one last time. But at the end of the day, Kushner will always remember what his grandparents went through as motivation to live life to its fullest.
When life gets tough for NC State’s senior tight end Matt Kushner, all he has to do is think of his grandparents.
Growing up, Kushner knew his grandparents were in Poland during World War II, but he only found out the startling details recently.
“My grandfather never really talked about his time in Poland,” Kushner recalls. “I actually just discovered the real story about a year ago. I found out because a reporter in New Jersey wrote about his story and my grandfather showed me the newspaper. I had heard bits and pieces over the years, but that was the first time I’d known the whole story.”
Kushner’s pride in his grandfather is evident as he shares the amazing events of his life.
“When my grandfather was young in Poland, his whole family was torn apart when they were caught up in the blitzkrieg. His father was taken away by the Gestapo and then escaped from Poland and fought for England. He was in a co-op with Great Britain and Poland and ended up fighting in North Africa. When the war was over he came here.”
Unfortunately during World War II, there were many people in Europe that didn’t survive the war and the oppression that followed. Looking at what his grandparents went through, Kushner realizes how lucky he has been.
“It opened my eyes. I’m sitting here complaining about a knee injury, and he’s running for his life when he’s 15 years old,” says Kushner, who sat out most of last season rehabbing that knee. “He’s my role model. Whenever something is going wrong, I think of what he went through. My grandmother was in the same situation. She was in Poland doing forced labor. The fact that they made it through and still have a great outlook on life makes me just not complain as much.”
Growing up in a sports crazy state like Pennsylvania, Kushner played many different sports during his youth.
“In high school, I played football, basketball and competed in track & field. Growing up, sports was a big part of my life. Whether it was football, basketball, or baseball I was always playing some type of sport. I was outside all the time.”
In high school Kushner was recruited by schools such as Villanova and Boston College, but it was a prior connection to NC State that brought him to Raleigh.
“I was being recruited here by Chuck Amato who is actually from the same town as me. Also a high school teammate of mine, John Bedics, played football here. When I came down here for a visit, he told me what a great place this was. I love Raleigh and everything around here. There were some people I knew down here too which helped.”
After his redshirt freshman season, Kushner and his teammates had to come to terms with a coaching change. Even though Kushner was recruited to NC State by Amato, he has high praise for Coach O’Brien.
“I think Coach O’Brien is a great coach and is doing a great job with the program. He definitely has his ways and they’re working. He knows what he’s doing and is pushing us toward being a winning team.”
Football players are always at risk for serious injury. Kushner found out last season how tough it could be to miss significant playing time.
“During the second game against William & Mary, I was blocking and felt something snap in my leg. When it happened I knew right away that it wasn’t good, and that my season was probably over. It was hard, especially when I had to tell my parents. Just seeing everyone out there having fun and being successful, I wanted to be a part of it. We had a good season last year and I wanted to be a part of it. Watching us come back and beat East Carolina was great, but I wanted to be on the field, so it was rough.”
When he came to grips with the injury, Kushner put all of his effort into rehabbing. He admitted how tough it was to get back into shape.
“The off-season rehabilitation was a pain. I was trying to get back into shape so every morning I’m in there working out my leg. It was tough to get the leg back to normal.”
At the beginning of every season the slate is wiped clean from the previous year. While the team improved last year, Kushner has high hopes for the Wolfpack in 2009.
“As far as expectations for the team this year, I think we’ll do really well,” he continues. “I don’t want to say how many games we will win this year, but I feel like we will win a lot. As a player you want to go in thinking you have a chance to win every game on the schedule. Whether it turns out that way or not, I think the coaching staff will put us in the position to win. Our defense is looking great, along with the offense. I just think we have all the pieces to the puzzle. If we put it together we can win a lot of games.”
The Pack is in a position in which the team needs to rely heavily on Kushner, who is now among the team's oldest players. When looking at his personal goals, Kushner believes he will have a solid season.
“For myself, I’m expecting a good year. I can go out there and help the team with run blocking and I’m catching the ball a lot better. That’s one thing I worked on during my rehabilitation, watching the ball and working on my hands. With the extra time I had, I studied players running routes to see what I could do differently.”
While Kushner came to NC State to play football, he is also receiving a quality education that will help him in the future.
“I am majoring in interdisciplinary studies,” he said. “I wanted to do something related to sport management or communications, but I couldn’t make up my mind. Someone told me I could put them together in this major and it’s worked out pretty well. I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds. I’m getting the communication skills I need to work in a business setting. The sport management part is helping me understand the administration side. I’m putting it all together. I really feel like it has benefited me a lot.”
As Matt Kushner finishes his career at NC State he has a lot to be thankful for. He will be leaving NC State with a college degree, as he is on target to graduate in December. He was able to recover from a season-ending injury to don the Wolfpack jersey for one last time. But at the end of the day, Kushner will always remember what his grandparents went through as motivation to live life to its fullest.
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