Sedlar capitalized on delayed opportunity at H-SC

Corey Sedlar, the quarterback who is about to become the most accomplished passer in Hampden-Sydney history, was once considered an afterthought by the coaching staff.

"The guy before him was a high school All-American," coach Marty Favret said. "Corey didn't even start for his high school team. It's understandable that we were a little bit skeptical."

The guy before Sedlar, J.D. Ricca, had set every Hampden-Sydney passing record. Now, Sedlar is in range to break them. He's only 192 yards away from surpassing Ricca's career mark of 8,633 passing yards.

"If you had told me three years ago that he'd be chasing J.D. Ricca's record, I'd say you're crazy," Favret said.

It wasn't that Sedlar couldn't play, he was just overshadowed by a better player in high school. During Sedlar's two years on the varsity squad at Mills Godwin, Justin Bristow led the offense and Sedlar never got to start. Sedlar was relegated to tight end and linebacker. According to coach Will Kitchen, Bristow could have been a Division I quarterback had he not decided to play baseball.

"He would've been an excellent high school starting quarterback," Kitchen said. But without an opportunity to play, Sedlar wasn't able to develop.

But since he was a good student and he came from a school that had produced a couple of Hampden-Sydney stars, Favret offered Sedlar a place on the team. After initially committing to Hampden-Sydney, Sedlar changed his mind and went to JMU, where he had no offer to play football. Sedlar decided he was done with being a backup and hung up his pads for good, he thought.

"I knew [my football career] was going to end eventually. Now that I look back on it," Sedlar said. "Not smart."

Hampden-Sydney assistant coach Cris Bell called Sedlar's father a year later to see if he might still be interested in playing football. Sedlar suddenly realized how much he missed the game.

"A light went off -- I do kind of miss it," Sedlar remembered. So after a year at JMU, Sedlar returned to the game, transferring to Hampden-Sydney. But there was still no guarantee Sedlar would see any playing time. Just like high school, he possibly faced three more years watching someone else play his position.

"I'd be lying if I said we had plans for him," Favret said. But Sedlar had another four-leaf clover up his sleeve. In the opening game of the 2007 season against Johns Hopkins, the starting quarterback was suspended, leaving Sedlar to make his first start.

"In the back of my head, I kept saying, 'This guy has never played a meaningful down of football in his life,' " Favret said. "We took the game away from him that day. We ran the ball and let him manage it, which was a mistake, in retrospect."

Hampden-Sydney lost 17-16.

The next week, Hampden-Sydney scored 54 points against Gettysburg and hasn't slowed down since.

In the first three games this season, Sedlar has thrown for 1,415 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. He's completed 109 of 175 passes.

In two games this season, Sedlar played only half the time, allowing younger players to get experience.

With Rohle and the offensive line starting to come together, Sedlar anticipates a more balanced attack as the season progresses.

“We’ve become more balanced since the opener,” Favret said. “But we’re going to live and die by throwing the ball.”

At Godwin, Kitchen uses Sedlar as an example to his players of how they should play football. And, more important, how they should live.

“Anywhere you go in this life, there’s a large amount of preparation, a large amount of circumstance, and a large amount of luck that go into whatever you do,” Kitchen said. “You’ve got to be ready when your day comes. And that’s the one thing Corey always was.”

Contact Eric Kolenich at (804) 649-6109