

When Mark Scarpinato retired from football about a year ago in favor of medical school, the former Michigan State defensive tackle expected there would be a sense of closure to his career.

But as his first year at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee wore on, he realized how much he missed playing the game that he left after his sophomore season.

“I would try not to watch the games because it would make me a little sad,” he said. “It was like, ‘Those are my guys and I could be out there right now.’

“I think that probably could have been a hint that maybe it’s not time to give it up.”

Hint received. Scarpinato is making a return to football, as he will play his final year of eligibility at Pitt this fall and spend two years pursuing his Master of Health Administration.

At Pitt, he will reunite with former MSU defensive coordinator and now Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, as well as some former staff members.

“That was the best combination of football with academics and also with feeling like home,” said Scarpinato, who played in all 14 games in MSU’s Rose Bowl season in 2013. “With the same defensive system and a lot of people that I know.”

It will mean taking a leave of absence from MCW, returning as a second-year medical student with what he figures will be a boosted resume for internships and residency as he aims to one day run a hospital.

“I’m looking to use this to mold my career in terms of medicine,” he said. “I think the more people you’re able to meet, the more different experiences you have, the better physician you can be.”

The decision to play out the one year he has left started to come in early February. In meetings with mentors – in particular, Dr. Michael C. Decker – he was encouraged to follow his heart.

“We talked a lot about what I wanted out of med school and what I wanted out of this whole life,” Scarpinato said. “My whole goal talking with him was to get a project and to get published. …

“He had a way different goal. That was to make me fully understand what I wanted.”

Then he watched former MSU cornerback Trae Waynes and former Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon working out at the NFL Combine. He thought back to playing against the pair in high school, as he and Milwaukee Marquette University defeated Waynes and Gordon and Kenosha Bradford in the 2009 Wisconsin state semifinals.

“Ever since then, I was like, ‘I can keep up with these guys,’” Scarpinato said. “I was kinda like maybe I should give it one more run. Give it everything I’ve got and truly see if I can keep up with those guys.”

So Scarpinato started looking at schools. He looked through the top schools with an MHA program, ruling out any Big Ten schools out of respect for coach Mark Dantonio and Michigan State.

He talked with North Carolina coaches, but decided that was not the right fit. Then he locked in on Pitt, which has a top 10 MHA program and MSU ties. He applied at the end of March, getting his acceptance on April 22.

And Narduzzi, who he has known since being recruited in high school, was excited to give him a second chance.

“I think he is really excited for me as a person more than a player,” Scarpinato said. “He cares about me as a person and about getting what I want out of life as a person. The fact that I’m able to play for him and help his defense out and help his team out is just icing on the cake.”

Admittedly, the past year has not been the best physical preparation for coming back to play major college football.

He interned last summer at his high school in the weight room, but tailed off during the busy first year of med school. But once he began looking into playing his final year, he got back to training and said he is feeling great, weighing in at 280 – just shy of the 287 he played at in his final season for MSU.

“I am just as strong as I was at Michigan State after six weeks of training,” he said.

But while it was not the best physical build up, Scarpinato feels he holds a stronger perspective on football as a game now, fueled by his experiences in med school.

“It’s so much easier when you know that it’s not someone else’s life in your hands,” he said.

For now, his hands will be more occupied with shedding offensive linemen once again.

And when he is done with whatever the season at Pitt brings, he will hope to head back to MCW with the closure he was missing in the past year.

“I’m definitely looking to be able to watch Pitt games and Michigan State games on Saturday and be completely okay with it and say I did everything I had to,” he said.

