Football is going to be Nate Sudfeld’s priority at Indiana University for the next four months, but the impressive quarterback is keeping it in perspective.
Coming from a humanitarian family, he drew inspiration from his grandfather, who founded Assist International.
Sudfield has observed the world of hurt out there in third world countries.
“When my twin brothers, my sister and I turned 13, my grandfather gave us suitcases for our birthdays and told us we could go on a project with him,” said Sudfeld, who hopes to lead IU to its first bowl game since 2007.
One brother went to Romania, another to Cuba, his sister to Bulgaria, and Nate went to Uganda. During his most recent spring break, he made his second trip to Uganda.
“My first time, I was 14, a little too young to appreciate it, but the experience kind of shaped my world view,” said Sudfeld, a 6-foot-4 senior from Modesto, Calif.
Now he understands the bigger picture, thanks to a broadened perspective.
Spending time in Atiak, where many children were killed or abused by the rampaging army of Joseph Kony, he applauded his brother, Zach, who plays tight end for the New York Jets, for funding an addition to an orphanage there.
In Uganda, he saw how Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe teaches abused children homemaking and sewing skills at St. Monica’s mission. Her efforts give them hope and earned the applause of Time Magazine, which named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world..
“She’s salvaged the lives of a lot of abused ladies,” Sudfeld said.
He acknowledged the monumental problems this unstable young nation is striving to overcome.
“It’s not good. Fifty-two percent of the population is 15-and-under They’re trying to build a country from the ground up, starting with education,” Sudfeld said.
Sudfeld shook his head sadly.
“A lot of corruption, but they’re making progress,” he said.
In contrast, the injured left shoulder which benched him for the last six games of 2014 seems insignificant. After all, he points out, it wasn’t even his throwing arm.
All systems are go for Sudfeld, who spent part of the summer picking the brains of the ultimate quarterback family of Peyton, Eli and Archie Manning at their academy on the Nicholls State campus in Louisiana.
“I had a great time soaking up knowledge,” Sudfeld said.
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Closer to home, he also observed what makes Colts quarterback Andrew Luck tick. The attention to detail impressed him the most.
“Preparation and hard work made them what they are,” Sudfeld said.
“What I thought was pretty cool was how Peyton involved his backup quarterback (Brock Osweiler) by having him watch two (rival) quarterbacks each week and give him a written presentation on Wednesday.”
Indiana coach Kevin Wilson’s optimism is based on Sudfeld’s willingness to embrace a leadership role, an issue he struggled with last year before being injured. Increased responsibilities might have affected his performance, which regressed slightly after a strong sophomore season.
Sudfeld was his own worst critic for a 16-point drop in passing efficiency to 126.6. He completed 60.5 percent of his passes, but threw for only six touchdowns.
“Even before I got hurt, we weren’t hitting on all cylinders in our passing game,” he said.
After two other quarterbacks joined Sudfeld on the list of season-ending casualties, the Hoosiers averaged only 18 points a game.
“Two years ago, we had the best offense in the Big Ten,” Wilson said. “After Nate got hurt, we went down from 558 yards to 330 yards (per game) last year.”
Tradition tilts toward an eighth straight losing season, especially since leading tackler Austin Allen was kicked off the team after being arrested and charged with five counts of drug dealing over the summer.
How much difference can Sudfeld’s mushrooming confidence make remains to be seen, but he’ll give it the old college try.
John Mutka is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.