Nik Scalzo, Samford transfer QB, has 3rd season-ending surgery
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BVM) – Samford transfer quarterback Nik Scalzo will miss his first football season with the Bulldogs after his recent season-ending ACL surgery. Scalzo is known for his featured role in Season 3 of the Netflix docuseries “QB1: Beyond the Lights.” The former Kentucky Wildcats QB was contending for a starting spot in Birmingham.
“Third one’s the charm, am I right?,” Scalzo wrote in an Instagram post last week. “Just thought I’d make this post to let y’all know I tore my ACL in my left knee and had season-ending surgery this morning. The surgery went great.”
This more recent ACL surgery was in Scalzo’s left knee, but the quarterback previously had two surgeries on his right knee. He tore his ACL in 2018 as a three-star senior QB at Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and he tore it again during his inaugural fall camp at UK in 2019.
Scalzo actually spoke about his upcoming season at Samford during the August 11 media day – just about one week before the sudden surgery.
“I’m looking forward to the first game,” Scalzo said. “… This will be my fourth year, I’ve never really had the ability to compete… being back on the field has been great.”
Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side after he spoke publicly. Scalzo looked to be a likely starter in competition with fellow transfer QB Michael Hiers.
“If they both (Scalzo and Hiers) have to play, that’s fine,” head coach Chris Hatcher told 1819 News on August 15 – about a week before Scalzo’s surgery. “Both of them have shown they are very capable of running this offense at a high level… (but) a lot of things can happen between now and the first game.”
Well, a lot has happened, so it appears Hiers will get the starting spot when the Bulldogs take on Kennesaw State next week on September 1.
What’s next for Nik Scalzo?
Scalzo doesn’t have many stats to show for his NCAA career thus far because of the multiple injuries. He has yet to play a full season of college football, but in his three seasons as a high school starter, he completed 60% of his passes for 6,471 yards with 74 touchdowns to only 23 interceptions.
After redshirting at UK in 2019, practicing with the Wildcats squad in 2020, seeing little action in 2021, and now being completely out before the start of the 2022 season with the Bulldogs – Scalzo will no doubt be fighting to recover quickly. Samford Athletics declined to comment at this time.
Samford Athletics lists the 5-foot-11, 189-pound transfer quarterback as a junior. This will be Scalzo’s fourth year in college, but he should have three years of eligibility left granted by the NCAA for the COVID-19 and medically-impacted seasons.
In the meantime, Scalzo noted in an Instagram story highlight that he’ll be documenting his entire recovery journey on his YouTube page. He’ll be rooting on the sidelines and noted that he’s “excited for the future.” Scalzo’s current NIL evaluation is estimated at roughly $112,000, according to On3.
