Merrimack's Zach Twardosky spent the summer playing in the IFL for the Sugar Skulls in Tuscon, Ariz. (Courtesy photo)

MERRIMACK – Zach Twardosky simply cannot do without football in his life.

And the former Merrimack High School and Endicott College standout hasn’t given up the dream of a pro career, but the journey isn’t easy.

Here’s how hard it can be:

Twardosky a few months ago was sitting in a hotel room in Phoenix, having been released from one Indoor Football League team with just a day left on his room.

“They said ‘You’ve got 24 hours to get out,'” Twardosky said. “I was like, damn, you know?”

So the former Tomahawk called everyone he knew, and DM’d Rayshaun Kizer, the coach of the Tucson (Ariz.) Sugar Skulls of the Indoor Football League, a verson of Arena football.

“He was like ‘Come down tomorrow’,” Twardosky said. “I drove down, got a shot, they liked me and I was there the rest of the year. I definitely had some highlights, it was a good time.”

And now after playing defensive back indoors, he’s back here, helping out head coach Kip Jackson at his alma mater.

Here’s how the journey can go: Twardosky was first in Kenosha, Wisconsin at Carthage College, coaching for former Endicott coordinator Mike Popino, who became the head coach at Carthage. So while Twardosky was beating the bushes for a football playing job, Popino asked him to come out and coach.

“Then one of the kids there was from Arizona, and he knew Kevin Guy, the head coach of the (Arizona) Rattlers, gave me his phone number,” Twardosky said. “I gave him a call and he said ‘Love to have you here.'”

So Twardosky headed to Phoenix to play with the IFL team. But he got released.

“It’s definitely highs and lows, right?” he said. “It comes to the point, do I want to keep doing this? Do I have a shot?”

He’s going to keep looking for that shot, for certain. He liked playing Arena ball.

“It was awesome,” Twardosky said. “It’s faster, a lot faster, a shorter field, right? Only three down linemen. It’s basically like flag football with some runs.”

And it wasn’t a track meet. It took its physical toll.

“One Arena season is like two outdoor seasons,” Twardosky said. “You’ve got the boards, run into those, the ground’s concrete. You don’t slide as much, especially as we have the special shoes on.

“It’s way faster, very physical, very fast paced.”

And the competition as well as the level of play is advanced.

“I was playing with guys from Ole Miss, Virginia Tech,” he said. “Even some guys that bounced back, I was playing with guys from the Seattle Seahawks, and a quarterback who played eight years in the league, Nate Davis (formerly of the 49ers, Colts and Seahawks). He’s like 38, he wasn’t very mobile, but he ran the entire offense.

“It was a little wakeup call. Guys running 4.3s, 4.4s at me rather than in D3. The margin of error was short.”

Twardosky wants to get enough film and not give up the dream. That’s why he played Arena ball.

“I think I’ve got enough film to get a look, the CFL or something like that,” he said. “It’s just trying to get enough film to get out, keep learning and keep getting better. I’ve been playing this game since I was eight-years-old, and I’m still learning from guys.”

At the same time, Twardosky does not lack for confidence.

“For me I know I can play at the next level. I’ve played with a lot of guys; almost all those guys (in Arena ball) can play at the next level, CFL and all that. It’s just having a coach to give you a shot, a scout to give you an opportunity.”

Twardosky feels he has the speed. He feels he has the size, six feet, 200 pounds.

“Now it’s just like getting a shot. The tangibles are there, the intangibles are there. It’s just trying to get some film, trying to get to a higher league. I’m D3 – not a lot of NFL coaches want to take a shot.”

But it looks like Twardosky will keep beating the bushes until they do.