Nick Sharga: Toughness Personified

When redshirt senior Nick Sharga first burst onto the scene in North Philadelphia prior to the 2014 season, Owls fanatics knew very little about the now fan-favorite. However, three-years after walking-on as a linebacker, Sharga's punishing blocks and fiery play have garnered national attention, continue to steal the hearts of fans, and have resulted in the Cherryville, Pa. native being praised by many as the country's most talented fullback.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound two-way sensation didn't have the privilege of taking the easy route, though. As an under-recruited linebacker and tight end from Northampton High School in Pennsylvania who entered his senior season with only limited interest from schools, a season ending injury on opening night of that senior season seemed to spell out the end of Sharga's football career. Catching the eye of division 1 recruiters out of a small town like Sharga's was difficult enough. After the injury, the few schools that had originally expressed interest, were gone.

So, once Sharga bid farewell to his senior season, he wasn't sure what - if anything - was next for him on the gridiron.

"It was definitely tough. I had a decision to make," said Sharga. "What I ended up deciding to do was take the whole next year off. I trained, worked out, rehabbed, and made sure I was ready to go for that following season."

After spending nearly two years away from football, Sharga's next stop turned out to be West Virginia Wesleyan University, where he'd get his first taste of football at the next level. Sharga immediately started making noise as the Bobcats' starting inside linebacker, eventually ending the season with 65 total tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. However, taking the road less traveled and being away from his family - where Sharga is one of eleven children - for the first time was difficult.

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"It was different. I've always had someone around, someone to talk to," Sharga said. "Being five hours away from home, I called my parents a lot. Fortunately everything worked out, we stayed close, and just went from there."

After spending just one semester at WVW, Sharga spent the spring "shopping around" for a new home on the National Collegiate Scouting Association website, in hopes that his productive freshman campaign would be enough to land himself a better gig.

As it turned out, his next stop would be at North Broad Street in Philadelphia, where former-Owls head coach Matt Rhule welcomed the gritty, crazy-haired linebacker onto the team as a walk-on.

"I shopped around for some schools and no one got back to me," said Sharga, "so I emailed Temple."

And, well… the rest is history.

"It was always my dream to play Division 1-A football, and it worked out perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better place to continue my football career."

Before Sharga ever played a down for the Cherry and White, he was selected by his teammates to wear a single-digit on his jersey - a long-time Temple football tradition that honors the team's toughest players.

After redshirting his sophomore season, Sharga began taking snaps at fullback and linebacker, all while becoming one of the Owls' most valuable special teamers. On opening day of the 2015 season against a heavily-favored Penn State team, Sharga racked up four tackles in his debut in front of a full house at Lincoln Financial Field, contributing to one of greatest wins in the program's history.

Ending the season with five total starts (four at fullback, one at linebacker) topped off what had already been an incredible journey.

"I don't think I could've written my story any better. I'm blessed," said Sharga. "That uncertainty that I had with not knowing what was going to happen out of high school, it's tough dealing with that... I just took everything one day at a time, made it here, and made sure I made the most out of my opportunities."

Things seem to come easy for Sharga on the gridiron. Even off the gridiron, they seem to as well. Sharga taught himself to play guitar as a child, managed to balance multiple varsity sports and a 3.8 GPA in high school, and won a district title in his second sport - wrestling - in the nationwide hot-bed of wrestling, the highly regarded District XI.

However, behind the scenes, the work was certainly being put in.

"It's something I take a lot of pride in," he explained. "Playing offense, defense, special teams, it is a lot of bouncing around in practice… I like to compete off the field as well as on it, so keeping up the grades in the classroom is second nature to me. I've got to be the best at everything I can."

Sharga's fiery play on the field is matched by a personality that many in Temple's Edberg-Olson Hall Football Complex rave about, and a toughness that is unmatched. So unmatched that opposing coaches have credited Temple's increasingly gritty play over the past few seasons to Sharga's toughness.

Prior to Temple's 37-10 victory over East Carolina in the 2016 season, Pirates head coach Scottie Montgomery credited the Owls' toughness to playing with Sharga.

"Their fullback (Nick Sharga) … he's a throwback player. He gives their whole team a different level of toughness because they have to face him every day in practice," Montgomery explained. "That level of toughness that they have — that is the difference in the Temple team now versus the Temple of old."

Since head coach Geoff Collins' hiring in December, he has placed an emphasis on his players being "Temple TUFF". The clever phrase can be seen all around Temple's facility, scattered across TU social media, on t-shirts, and so on. However, it's far more than a creative marketing campaign. For Sharga and this Owls team, it's not simply about playing Temple TUFF… it's about living that way, too.

"There's definitely aspects of that on the field, just being physical, being tough, and just competing in everything you do," explained Sharga. "We love competing… I like to take that attitude into the classroom, too... It's all about being the best at everything you do."

Now, as Temple looks to get back on track for their Saturday afternoon matchup against Houston, Sharga's presence on and off the field will be vital. As the two-year letterwinner looks to pen the last chapter of his journey in North Philly over the next few months, there is still plenty of football to be played.

Sitting at 2-2, the Owls will be tested over the course of the next few weeks. With notable in-conference matchups approaching, starting this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, Sharga and the already battle-tested Owls look to start heading in the right direction and are ready for whatever is coming their way.

"We're taking everything one day at time, and that's all you can really do in football. You can't look too far ahead," he said. "We're keeping our sights on Houston, and I'm just focused on giving it everything I've got on Saturday."

If anybody is up for the challenge, it's Sharga.

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Nick Sharga: Toughness Personified

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