There was a time during the 2009 season when SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason reached a conclusion about backup defensive end Szymon Czerniak.

“I had written him off — I didn’t think he’d ever develop into a player,” Mason said. “I told him that, too.”

Szymon Czerniak has emerged as a solid part of the Ponies' defensive rotation, thanks in part to the strength and health of his family (photo by Travis Johnston).

During the Mustangs’ preseason camp before the 2010 season, Mason had a decidedly different view of the junior from Houston’s Stratford High School.

“He was the biggest surprise in camp — by far,” Mason said. “He spent the summer really concentrating on football, and it paid off.

“Who knows what goes on in the mind of an 18- or 19-year-old kid? Some times we, as coaches, forget that for us, football is the only thing for us to focus on, but for players, they’ve got other things to think about.”

To say Czerniak has had other things on his mind would be a gross understatement. In the spring of 2008, he missed a week of school to be with his father, who underwent successful surgery as part of his treatment for renal cell cancer. Then, in February 2009, Czerniak underwent surgery of his own to donate bone marrow to his older sister, Katrina.

The oldest of three siblings (Katrina is now 22; the youngest, Anna, is 19), Katrina had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a blood disorder in which the body’s bone marrow doesn’t make enough new blood cells.

“She underwent chemotherapy to kill the existing bone marrow,” Czerniak said. “As soon as my dad asked … it was a chance to save my sister’s life. There was no thinking about it.

“It was about a two-hour surgery. They drove these long needles into my hip and got it out of there. The doctors said it was the most bone marrow they had ever taken out of a person — I’m a pretty big person, so I guess I had plenty.”

Czerniak made arrangements with his professors and missed about two weeks of school while recovering from the procedure. Afterward, he found himself exhausted, “but I pushed through.”

Czerniak said that the experience drew him even closer to Katrina, whose brother says is now fully healthy.

“We were already close — our whole family is very close,” he said. “But yeah, I’d say that made us even closer than we were. I have so much respect for her.

“I wouldn’t say it made football insignificant, but it definitely gave some perspective, and put football on the back burner for a while.”

The time he spent with his father in 2008 — Czerniak also reports his father has a clean bill of health — and the donor procedure he went through with Katrina last year cost Czerniak some offseason work, which doesn’t help when a player has moved positions as often as he has. Originally recruited as a defensive end, Czerniak was moved to the offensive line and then to defensive tackle before moving back outside to end.

“It was hard,” Czerniak said of the constant position changes. “When I played on offense, I put on 30 or 40 pounds, and honestly it was pretty unhealthy weight. I didn’t eat very well, and I ate a lot. Now I have gotten rid of that (weight) and I eat better — no fatty food. I’m in much better shape, and it has helped. I’m a lot quicker than I ever was.

“This offseason, I worked hard on my speed, and I got a lot stronger. I’m really good friends with Taylor Thompson, and I worked out with him a lot and ate with him a lot. You look at him, and you can tell how he takes care of himself. Working out with him has made a huge difference.”

The improved workout regimen and diet, Czerniak said, were not a direct response to Mason’s doubts about his playing future … a conversation that Czerniak said didn’t upset or surprise him.

“I already knew how they felt,” he said, now smiling about it. “That wasn’t a secret. But I knew I could play. The coaches (Czerniak was recruited by former SMU coach Phil Bennett’s staff) saw something in me in high school, and I knew I could play.

“I started working with (defensive line) Coach (Bert) Hill, and paid a lot of attention to the technique he was teaching. I’m not the biggest (Czerniak is listed at 6-4 and 268 pounds), strongest or fastest guy, but if you play the right technique, you can even things out.”

He also benefitted from the arrival of head coach June Jones and his staff, and the subsequent switch from the 4-3 defense Bennett employed to the 3-4 preferred by Mason and his staff, a move that coincided with his move back to defensive end.

“I was really happy when we switched to the 3-4,” Czerniak said. “I was always pretty tall, but I’m not too stocky. Playing inside as a 3-4 nose tackle wasn’t really a perfect fit, because I’m a tall guy more than a big guy. But playing defensive end in this system is perfect.”

Like Mason, Hill admitted to being surprised by the improvement in Czerniak’s play, and said his increased playing time is a well-deserved result of Czerniak’s dedication and work ethic.

“Szymon has surprised everyone, and he has impressed everyone,” Hill said. “He plays the right technique all the time. He’s a guy I feel very comfortable putting out there.

“Szymon made the decision to do what he needed to do to get ready, so he’s playing … and he’s playing well.”

Not quite everyone admits to being surprised at Czerniak’s rise this year. Right tackle J.T. Brooks has gone against Czerniak in practice since they were part of the Mustangs’ 2007 recruiting class, and Brooks said Czerniak’s improvement reflects his improved confidence and desire to improve.

“Honestly, I’m not really surprised,” Brooks said. “He came in with my class, so I’ve practiced against him since our freshman year, and he has always wanted to be good. Now, he’s somehow channeling that desire and seems to be intense and confident, and it’s paying off. He’s playing well. He’s gotten a lot better, even since last year.”

Much has been made about the improvement of the Mustangs’ starting defensive line — ends Thompson and Margus Hunt, who flank starting nose tackle Marquis Frazier — but Czerniak said that the coaches’ decision to move players around meant that there were opportunities for playing time available.

“They moved (linebacker Brandon Henderson) to the defensive line, and tried to fit him in on the second-string defense behind Taylor,” Czerniak said. “They moved Marquis inside, and Margus over to the right. It seemed like they were still getting settled on some things, and if I did my job, I’d have a chance to play.”

Czerniak was right. He has performed well enough that the coaches have moved Henderson back to linebacker, and he has become a regular part of the defensive line rotation as Thompson’s backup.

But as close as he is to his family and as hard as he has worked to earn his spot in the defensive rotation, Czerniak’s family has been to just one SMU game since he arrived on the Hilltop. The family left Poland for Houston when his father had a job opportunity at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center — the same facility, ironically, in which he was treated two years ago.

“They came to our game last year at Houston, and I don’t think I played,” Czerniak said. “But they don’t really understand American sports. They moved here (from Szeczin, Poland) in 1987. They’re glad I was able to develop to the point I got a scholarship, but they’re not really into football. My mom worries about my safety, I guess, but she has to — she’s my mom.”

The return to good health enjoyed by his father and sister — and his own role in his sister’s recovery — have helped Czerniak realize what’s really important to him. He obviously is pleased to have overcome his skeptics’ doubts and shown he is a valuable member of the Mustangs’ defense. But he also has a clear understanding of which priorities outweigh others.

“It definitely puts the big things in perspective, and that starts with having my family together,” he said. “This team is like a family, too — my second family.

“This team is about more than just football. These are guys I’m going to know the rest of my life.”