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The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

Matt Pawlowski attributes early season success to coaches, teammates

And the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Offensive Football Player of the Week and Guilford College Student-Athlete of the Week honors go to — first-year quarterback, Matt Pawlowski.

During that impressive week, Pawlowski totaled four touchdowns and led the Quakers to their first victory of the season.

As a respectful young talent, Pawlowski attributes success on the field to his coaches and teammates.

“Anything I do on the football field, I credit my coaches and teammates,” said Pawlowski. “They’ve all helped me out tremendously, especially the offensive line.”

Pawlowski is building quite a reputation for himself on the football field. The cool, calm and collected quarterback ranks third in passing completions (62), percentage (57.4), yards per game (226), and touchdowns (6) in the ODAC.

The newly declared sports management major has also earned respect inside the classroom from one of his professors.

“There are three kinds of people in this world,” said Robert Duncan, visiting assistant professor of political science. “There’s the kind of people who makes things happen. There’s the kind of people who waits for things to happen. Then there’s the kind of people who wonders what happened. Matt is the kind of person who makes things happen.”

Instilled with his parents’ strong values, Pawlowski has grown into a laid-back, soft-spoken leader.

“As a leader, I lead by example,” said Pawlowski. “Whether it’s running sprints hard, or producing good grades, I’m just a hard worker at whatever I do. Just because I’m laid-back and quiet doesn’t mean that I can’t be a great leader.”

In an email interview Matt’s mother, Kim Pawlowski, recalled how she and her husband raised their unique son.

“We always tried to stress to Matt that school came first and sports second,” said Kim. “You can only get so far playing sports, but a good education will carry someone through life. We also tried to remind him about how honesty and hard work will always pay off even if it can take a while. I think he has been able to see the results of that.”

Before committing to Guilford, Pawlowski said Liberty University and the Virginia Military Institute were in the recruiting race, but he felt Guilford was the right fit.

“Guilford’s coaches made it personal for me and explained they were going to help me progress throughout my years, which drew me in,” said Pawlowski. “They know I can grow as a person and as a quarterback.”

Entering the 2012 summer football training camp, Pawlowski battled his way to the top of the depth chart. Chris Kennedy, head sport performance trainer at Proehlific Park, and Pawlowski believe that training at Proehlific Park prepared him for the daily grind of the season.

“Matt is always faithful and committed to his work ethic,” said Kennedy. “If he couldn’t get any sleep in order to get in extra repetitions at lifting or throwing balls, I believe he would never sleep.”

Before arriving at Guilford, Pawlowski started as quarterback every year since his freshman year at Northwest Guilford High School, not even a ten-minute drive from campus. Northwest Guilford Head Football Coach Joe Woodruff describes Pawlowski as an athlete with many intangibles.

“This kid wins games if he throws the ball forty times or five times,” said Woodruff. “He finds a way to win. One other kid I coached is in the NFL right now as a quarterback. I’d be hard pressed to not take Matt over him just because Matt is such a proven winner.”

Although he has won a lot of games in high school, Pawlowski remains levelheaded and continues to find ways for him and his teammates to get better every week. Pawlowski is optimistic about his first season and his future.

“Every game I approach I only think about winning,” said Pawlowski. “When I leave this campus, I want to be known as a splendid student-athlete who helped expand Guilford’s football program as well as developed into a distinguished learner with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.”

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