Not all victories are won on a football field in front of screaming fans.

Sometimes they are done alone, with the ringing of a bell in a hospital ward.

Jack Zelezinski knows that better than anyone else.

The 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive lineman has already produced the best comeback story of the season for McNeese State. He did it while few fans knew his name or tale.

The redshirt sophomore, who has yet play a game for the Cowboys, has suddenly become an inspiration to a program that is trying to complete a comeback.

Last month the 22-year old Zelezinski announced that he was cancer-free and ready for football. In typical fashion for his generation Zelezinski told the world on social media, sharing his victory with those who have followed his journey.

“It was great to be able to share that and let everybody know I was better,” said Zelezinski. “You want to shout that out.”

After four months of chemotherapy and 15 radiation treatments, Zelezinski beat the disease and rang the only real victory bell that matters at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“To ring that bell, to know you are done with the treatments and the trips to the hospital, it feels amazing,” Zelezinski said. “It was just an amazing feeling to know that I was done.”

It was a far cry from how he felt in January when he heard the news he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“That was a sad, very long day,” Zelezinski said. “You hear it and it is scary. You can’t believe it.”

Zelezinski said he went to the doctor to check on a lump on his neck he thought had come from football.

“I didn’t think anything of it, but it was much more and much worse,” he said. “It came out of nowhere so that was the shock.”

Once the shock wore off Zelezinski got down to work. He was driven by two things: wanting to get better and wanting to get back to playing football.

“Playing football was always in the plan,” Zelezinski said. “It’s what kept me going during the tough times. You know it seems bad but you have to keep going, it isn’t over.”

That’s the attitude Zelezinski will bring back to McNeese, a program that is trying to rebound from a tough few years with new head coach Gary Goff.

“You learn that when things look bad you really have to look forward,” Zelezinski said. “You have to keep going. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Zelezinski said he doesn’t know when he will be ready to get into a game. He has a lot of work ahead of him. He has to gain back strength, though he surprising gained almost 30 pounds since he was first diagnosed.

“I have been working out in the pool and trying to get some of my endurance back first,” Zelezinski said. “I loving seeing all the guys around and getting back to working out. I can’t wait for more.

“I don’t know when I’ll be ready to fully practice, but I’m looking forward to camp starting and getting back at it with the guys. That’s what kept me going. I want to show everybody I can play football at this level.”

Zelezinski has been through it all at McNeese, from the pandemic to hurricanes and coaching changes, but nothing has slowed his desire to get on the field.

“It has been since my senior year in high school that I have played in a game, that’s a long time,” he said. “So much has happened, I just want things to get back to normal, to be a college football player.”

As for his feelings when he does get back into a game, Zelezinski said he isn’t sure how he will be.

“Emotional,” he said. “I know it is going to be emotional. It will mean a lot to me. It will mean I’m finally back.

“I can’t say when I will be ready, I just know I will play again.”

On that day Zelezinski will be able to enjoy his victory in front of Cowboy fans.