On Valentine’s Day, Lockport’s Ty Schultz didn’t feel the typical warmth in his heart.
He had cold snow on his knee instead. And suddenly, an uncertain future in football.
This was supposed to be the day, Feb. 14, that he showed off his skills to potential coaches at the Best of the Midwest College Combine in Westfield, Indiana.
Schultz said a snowstorm in the area kept attendance down to a handful of college coaches. In the middle of the day, he was running a cone drill.
On the final cone, he heard a pop in his left knee, followed by a whole bunch of pain. It was later confirmed by doctors he tore his ACL and needed surgery.
After pulling out of the rest of the combine, Schultz and his father, Robb, hit the road but could not find any ice for Ty’s swelling knee.
“We were in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “We couldn’t even find a gas station.”
Robb found a plastic grocery bag in the car, filled it with snow and tied it to Ty’s knee using a shirt. They made a couple of stops on the way home to refill with more snow.
Nearly seven months later, Schultz was back on the football field for a Sept. 10 game against Bradley-Bourbonnais. The senior running back scored a pair of touchdowns in a 43-7 win.
He followed that up Friday with another TD during a 22-0 victory over host Homewood-Flossmoor in a SouthWest Suburban Blue opener, giving the Porters their first 4-0 start since 2004.
Lockport is back. And so is Schultz.
“It would have been very rough missing my senior year,” he said.
With quarterback Hayden Timosciek, receiver Ryan Little and running back Andrew LoPresti establishing themselves, having Schultz in the fold is a huge bonus.
As a sophomore in 2019, Schultz led the team in rushing and scored six touchdowns in Lockport’s last two games.
Schultz missed the abbreviated six-game spring season. Lockport coach George George Czart wasn’t sure if Schultz would have to miss the fall season as well.
“Years ago, this was unheard of,” Czart said of a player returning so quickly. “But now you have technology and the will of the kid. He had the will and he’s back with us.”
Entering Friday’s game at Sandburg, the Porters are taking it slow with Schultz’s workload. He has 75 yards and three TDs on 20 carries in two games, having returned in Week 3.
Schultz said he’s feeling better with each drive, especially since he didn’t play in the spring.
“My junior year, I was on the sidelines for that and I supported the team as much as I could,” he said. “But that’s all I could have done. I don’t think anyone would want that to happen to them.”
It has been a painful year for the Schultz family.
In 2020, his older sister, Olivia, tore her right ACL. The Kentucky Wesleyan soccer player gave Ty plenty of advice and encouragement. Shortly after Ty had his surgery, she tore her left ACL.
“For a few weeks, we were both walking around on crutches,” Ty said. “Now we’re both helping each other out.”
Ty is taking a positive attitude about his future. He said when the time is right, he will have what it takes to play at the next level.
“There are probably some colleges who have given up on me already,” he said. “I haven’t been talking with colleges too much lately. I don’t really care if they have given up on me or not.
“I know if I perform my best, they are going to have to respect that.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
