Mitch Stanitzek didn't ask for his inadvertent helmet-to-helmet hit on Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey nearly three years ago to have the effect it did injury-wise.
He didn't ask to be ejected before Central Michigan's loss at the Carrier Dome on Sept. 19. He also didn't ask for the threats and other menacing messages directed to him on social media. But he's matured because of it.
"All of us can say, throughout our college career, we definitely grow up a lot," Stanitzek said. "We're introduced to a lot of variables. It helps shape us in becoming men."
Stanitzek, entering his fifth year with the Chippewas, carried himself in a way last season when he returned to the dome that earned him not only the respect of the coaching staff, but from Dungey as well.