McMurtrie’s comeback from injury lifts Crusader offense

He knew right away. When he felt the pop in his knee, he lay on the ground motionless — he knew this time was different. 

His parents, watching from the stands, knew pretty quickly, too. On a third-down play, he had fallen down after a blocking attempt, and he wasn’t getting up. With a pit in their stomachs, they quietly pleaded — get up. Just get up. — as they inched closer to the bottom of the bleachers. 

“As each passing second goes by,” said John McMurtrie, “more and more worry goes through you.”

When he tried standing up, he couldn’t put any weight on his knee, and reality sunk in quickly. All-Patriot League right tackle Pat McMurtrie, a mainstay for the high-octane offense of the Holy Cross football team, knew that his 2022 season was likely over before it had barely started, and he retreated to the locker room with the team medical staff.

As the clock wound down, Pat came back to the bench with crutches, and just minutes later, he watched his teammates sprint onto the field in jubilation after one of the greatest plays in program history: Matthew Sluka connected with Jalen Coker on a 46-yard Hail Mary touchdown, helping Holy Cross upset FBS foe Buffalo. Pat sat on the metal bench, his arms raised silently in celebration, staring from the background at the history and madness that just unfolded in front of him.

In the coming days, weeks and months, as he rehabbed a torn ACL and meniscus, he would continue to watch that history from a distance — but learned more about himself in the process.

In a personality-filled offensive line room, Pat McMurtrie is one of the gentlest souls — he’s soft-spoken, loyal, dependable, grateful and caring. He’s not the type to raise his voice, either scolding or in celebration, and is unconditionally more likely to share a smile than a complaint. 

“I think that he takes a lot after my father, he was quiet,” John said. “Pat isn’t a rah-rah guy, but he's pretty astute when it comes to the game and studying film. I call him the quiet assassin.”

Known affectionately by his teammates as “Murtie,” Pat is one of the most reliable players on the Crusader football squad — whether it’s in terms of his knowledge of the sport of football, his consistent toughness, or simply his willingness to lend a listening ear. 

“Murtie is one of the most genuine and reliable people I have ever met,” said fifth-year captain, and Pat’s roommate, Jacob Dobbs. “He’s the type of person that never fails to put a smile on your face and always has your back.” 

“You couldn't ask for a better teammate,” said fifth-year captain C.J. Hanson — also Pat’s roommate, and the starting right guard who stands next to him. “He gives it his all at all times, and he is an incredible player. He is humble and calm — he is like a gentle giant who can get the job done and done well. He’s one of the toughest guys I know — he can't be stopped, and his work ethic is unmatched.” 

As subdued as his personality may be off the field, he is equally calm, cool and collected on the field. 

“He's really a really savvy football player,” said Holy Cross offensive line coach Chris Zarkoskie. “He does a lot of stuff very naturally. He's really good with his hands in pass protection. He does a great job in the run game, in terms of his body control, and he works really hard at all of it.

“He does a really good job of taking everything as it comes, and if there's something that brings him back, he does a good job of playing the next snap. His calm, cool and collected attitude aids him in his playing ability.” 

Pat began his football-playing journey a bit later than other sports. He had the height to play basketball (which his father played collegiately) and soccer as a goalie, and he played baseball and participated in swimming as well. But around the fifth or sixth grade, he realized all of his friends were playing football, so he figured, why not?

His love of the sport of football was built on a foundation of fun. 

“It took me a few years to kind of figure out how to actually play — I was just having fun with it,” he said. “And I still do have fun with it. But when you're a kid, you're just out there to be with your friends — but then as I got older, I started to realize that I enjoyed this, and that I could have a future with it in terms of playing in high school, maybe — and obviously college was like a dream too.”

It took one coach in particular, Chris Venezia, though, to help him realize his full potential. Venezia played football at Navy, and saw the early potential in Pat, and helped guide him through the early learning curve with the sport. 

“Pat came late into the game, didn't know all the terminology, and didn’t really know what was going on, quite frankly,” said Maryellen McMurtrie, Pat’s mother. “And Coach Venezia really took Pat under his wing, because I think he could see that Pat was just like — ‘what the heck's going on?’  ‘What the heck am I supposed to be doing?’ He didn’t know the stances, the plays, anything. And Pat talks about him to this day — if it hadn't been for this coach, he may not have continued because he really was a mentor to him.”

And some of Pat’s earliest football memories? Attending games at Army West Point, about an hour from his hometown of Verona, N.J.

“Even before I started playing, my dad took me with some family friends to my first game up at Army,” Pat said. “Just the atmosphere they have, the pregame and all that — I fell in love with that.”

When Pat opted to play at Holy Cross, he considered the big picture — the well-roundedness of the education he would receive, the 90-Wide mentorship program and the elite football. And it’s safe to say that he’s capitalized on all of these. He’s been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll multiple times, and has started 27 games at right tackle. After a standout 2021 campaign, he was an All-Patriot League second team selection. 

So as he carried the momentum from his fantastic junior season into his senior year in 2022, everything came to a screeching halt during Holy Cross’ second game of the year against Buffalo — and it took a little bit for him to move forward. As his team was in the midst of its best season in program history, all he could do was watch. 

“We were winning and playing so well, and I was just kind of sitting there for the first few weeks,” Pat said. “I'm not going to lie, it was really tough. It was the first time I didn't really feel like I had an identity.”

But a conversation with Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney changed his mindset. 

“We sat down and he was like, just talk to me,” Pat said. “He told me: I’m a senior, and you’ve done so much for this program, and you don’t realize how much you can help this team. If you keep having a positive attitude, even if you don't realize it now, that’s going to impact so many people. 

“Once I kind of heard that, it did change my mindset — I could still help the team. It might not be playing on the field, but just pointing out stuff that I see happening in the game, and then also just being there to support the guys and keep them excited. I realized I can still have an impact on the team. It just changed my whole mindset.”

He had surgery later in October, in the week prior to Holy Cross’ thrilling overtime victory over Fordham — so he again had to celebrate from a distance in one of the most memorable games in school history — but he couldn’t be prouder of what his team had done.

After Christmas, Pat returned to campus shortly after the holiday, and began his rehab process alongside Dobbs, who was working through an elbow, tricep and forearm injury.

“You never felt like you were alone in the process because you always had one of your best friends right there with you,” Dobbs said. “He’s just one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around. It's really hard to not be laughing or happy when you're around Murtie.”

“He took control of his situation,” Maryellen said. “He didn't hesitate going back. He really took the ball and ran with it — he knew what had to get done.”

His hard work paid off. He was 100 percent cleared to return for the team’s summer workouts, and though it took time to trust himself physically, he’s back and playing his best football yet. With Pat helping anchor the offensive line, he’s helped pave the way for the Holy Cross offense to be one of the nation’s best — entering Saturday’s game against Army, the Crusaders rank third nationally with an average of 40.1 points per game and fourth in FCS with 475 total yards per game. 

“Early in the season, he had a heck of a game against Boston College — really, he's played well in all the games, in my eyes,” Zarkoskie said. 

And he’s continued to grow alongside his counterparts on the offensive line. 

“He and I have grown together for all the years we've been playing,” Hanson said. “It's great when you play right next to each other and you know who did what at all times. We always look out for each other on the field. Pat and I have always had this communication that not only makes us better players, but also helps us correct stuff on the fly. 

“He is such an incredible player — his comeback from surgery is truly remarkable. He’s one of the toughest guys I know. He trained so hard to make a huge comeback for this year, and he has done just such an incredible job. I couldn't be happier to be playing next to him, and this season has been truly special. He and his family are some of the best people I know on this planet and I'm so lucky to have him as my tackle.”

As the Crusaders prepare to face Army this Saturday, it’s a full-circle moment for the fifth-year senior. This weekend, more than 20 of his closest friends and family will be in attendance as he embraces the opportunity to play on the stage where his love of football began. 

And he’s expressing gratitude for everything that the sport has given him. 

“I owe everything that I have to football — the friends I have, the people I've met, getting an education,” he said. “I love it because obviously, number one, it’s just fun. I love playing it. But I'm just thankful because pretty much everything that I have is from it – so I'm forever going to be thankful for that.”

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