Link: www.dailymail.com/news/MU+Sports/
November 06 2002
Leftwich thankful injury wasn't worse
Chuck Landon <clandon@dailymail.com>
Daily Mail sportswriter
HUNTINGTON -- Byron Leftwich eased his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame gingerly onto the steps in the football facilities building Tuesday, propping his crutches against the railing and carefully positioning his shoeless left foot with the air-splint peeking out of the pants leg.
Then, for the first time, Marshall's star quarterback discussed an injury that has drawn national attention.
Leftwich talked about the moment he injured his left shin against Akron Saturday, why he returned to action, the aftermath and the prognosis.
"You're hearing everybody say that I hurt the same spot where I had the surgery," said Leftwich, who underwent surgery last March to correct an old stress fracture. "That's false. It's a little bit below that spot.
"I'll put it this way. If it weren't for the surgery, Joe Theismann wouldn't have been the only thing you ever saw like that."
Theismann, now a well-known NFL commentator, saw his pro career as a quarterback virtually end on a hit that gruesomely snapped his tibia bone.
Leftwich says the same thing would have happened to his left tibia when Akron linebacker Ryan Myers' helmet slammed into it, if not for the metal rod stretching from his knee to his ankle.
"What the surgery did for me was it made my left leg stronger than my right leg," explained Leftwich. "And nothing ever has happened to my right leg. The surgery actually made my leg stronger and made it able to deal with the impact.
"Because of that, it wasn't as bad as it could have been."
And it could have been ugly.
"Oh, yeah," said Leftwich, nodding his head emphatically. "Yes."
Yet, Leftwich insisted on returning to action with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter, after X-rays of the first-quarter injury were negative.
That decision and the videotape of Marshall offensive linemen carrying Leftwich up and down the field have been the source of controversy both locally and nationally.
"It's funny," said Leftwich. "Monday I had a lot of time to sit and watch television. I saw people on the sports shows say I went back in for the Heisman Trophy. That had nothing to do with it.
"And a lot of people were saying that I needed to think about my family. Well, I was. That's my family out there. And I was thinking about my family.
"Most of the people who make comments like that never played a day of football in their lives. You know, football is different than basketball. Football is different than everything.
"That was my huddle. That was my team out there. I had to get back out there. It was just one of those things that I had to deal with. I was in a lot of pain, but I dealt with it.
"If I had felt that I was putting myself in harm's way, I wouldn't have went out there. And the ?Old Man' (Marshall Coach Bob Pruett) wouldn't have let me back out there.
"I dealt with it. I have to be honest with you, I would do it 10 more times if I had to. I would go out there and try to help my team. Because when I came back out, I really did think we could beat those guys at that point.
"And I think my teammates felt we could come back and beat those guys. But at the end, everything started giving out on me. I was down on "E.' I didn't have anymore energy left.
"But I would rather feel that way and know that I gave everything I had, than to not go out there and do nothing."
Leftwich does admit, however, that during the trip back home after the game he was afraid the worst-case scenario might come true.
"Saturday night, I feared the worst," he said. "I kind of know my body. My body talked to me. At the time, my body told me, ?Hey, you might be kind of done.'
"But that's what the doctors are for. That's why you've got the specialists, that's why you've got the guys that make all the money -- to put somewhat of a smile on my face.
"It's not a good thing. But it's not as bad as we thought."
A trip to Columbus, Ohio, Sunday for an examination by the orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery provided Leftwich with some light at the end of the tunnel.
"It was some light," said Leftwich, while watching his teammates slosh through a rainy practice session Tuesday. "It wasn't a whole bunch of light. I'd rather have gotten through that game and been able to go out there and practice with the guys.
"I know it's raining, but I'm a football player. And that's what I like doing. It's tough being on the side."
It's tough because the resilient Leftwich never has been hurt badly enough to miss action.
"I've been hurt a lot, but I never was injured," said the senior Heisman Trophy candidate. "I've never been injured like this. To have somebody else in there for me . . . no offense to Stan (Hill) or Graham (Gochneaur), but it's somebody else in your huddle.
"Somebody else is out there running the team, doing what you're supposed to be doing as a player. For me, I kind of felt like I let those guys down Saturday.
"I know those guys don't want to hear that. But it's just the way I think. That's just how I am. I feel as though I went out there and kind of let those guys down.
"I know I don't have any control over if I get injured or not. But, man, I keep asking myself, ?Could I have done something a little differently? Turned my leg this way or threw the ball to a quicker receiver?'
"But, at the time, it was a touchdown. When I threw the ball and it left my hands, I was thinking touchdown. And the only reason we didn't get a touchdown is there was pass interference.
"I didn't know what happened on that play. I thought he caught the ball. But I didn't hear the crowd's reaction. I did hear a little cheer, so I thought he scored at the time.
"But when I looked up, we were at the 1-yard line."
And Leftwich's left shin was on fire.
"It was instant pain," he said.
Yet, even as Leftwich hobbles around on crutches with an air-splint on his injured left shin, it's difficult to imagine this courageously competitive quarterback not playing against the arch-rival Miami RedHawks at 8 p.m. Tuesday in a game televised nationally by ESPN from Marshall Stadium.
"You know how I am," said Leftwich. "It would be pushing it. If it happens, it's going to be something special."
But being special is Leftwich's, well, specialty.
"I know," he said. "So, hopefully, I can get out there."
Is that a hint?
"It's hard to say," said Leftwich. "I don't want to say, ?Hey, there's a chance' and everybody think, ?Hey, he's going to play. He said he's going to be there 100 percent on Tuesday.'
"But I don't want to say I'm not going to be there and then end up being there. But one thing I can tell you. It's a week away and you can get a lot better in a week.
"It's just a good thing we didn't have to play this Tuesday. If we had to play today, there's no way. There's no way I could do anything. Even Saturday there probably would be no way."
That's the silver lining of this injury. Leftwich has 10 days to heal.
"I've got a lot more days to try to get better," he said. "And, hopefully, I can get better by next Tuesday. Nobody knows. It's tough to say. It's getting better. It's getting well a little too slow, but I'm day-to-day. We're going to see what happens. Only time will tell.
"We're not going to try to rush it. But, at the same time, we're trying to speed it up. Right now, it's pretty sore. I still can't walk on it.
"But I'm getting treatment around the clock, 24 hours a day.
"I'm trying to do whatever it takes. I've got everything. I'm using a lot of ice. You just do what you can to make it better.
"But it's all about time. Will I be healthy enough? Will the days give me enough time to heal? That's what it's all about. You can do all the treatment in the world, but it's all about time and when your body can recover.
"Hopefully, it can. But Tuesday will be pushing it. Tuesday will really be pushing it. We'll see, we'll see. My status is day-to-day. Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and go out there and practice."
November 06 2002
Leftwich thankful injury wasn't worse
Chuck Landon <clandon@dailymail.com>
Daily Mail sportswriter
HUNTINGTON -- Byron Leftwich eased his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame gingerly onto the steps in the football facilities building Tuesday, propping his crutches against the railing and carefully positioning his shoeless left foot with the air-splint peeking out of the pants leg.
Then, for the first time, Marshall's star quarterback discussed an injury that has drawn national attention.
Leftwich talked about the moment he injured his left shin against Akron Saturday, why he returned to action, the aftermath and the prognosis.
"You're hearing everybody say that I hurt the same spot where I had the surgery," said Leftwich, who underwent surgery last March to correct an old stress fracture. "That's false. It's a little bit below that spot.
"I'll put it this way. If it weren't for the surgery, Joe Theismann wouldn't have been the only thing you ever saw like that."
Theismann, now a well-known NFL commentator, saw his pro career as a quarterback virtually end on a hit that gruesomely snapped his tibia bone.
Leftwich says the same thing would have happened to his left tibia when Akron linebacker Ryan Myers' helmet slammed into it, if not for the metal rod stretching from his knee to his ankle.
"What the surgery did for me was it made my left leg stronger than my right leg," explained Leftwich. "And nothing ever has happened to my right leg. The surgery actually made my leg stronger and made it able to deal with the impact.
"Because of that, it wasn't as bad as it could have been."
And it could have been ugly.
"Oh, yeah," said Leftwich, nodding his head emphatically. "Yes."
Yet, Leftwich insisted on returning to action with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter, after X-rays of the first-quarter injury were negative.
That decision and the videotape of Marshall offensive linemen carrying Leftwich up and down the field have been the source of controversy both locally and nationally.
"It's funny," said Leftwich. "Monday I had a lot of time to sit and watch television. I saw people on the sports shows say I went back in for the Heisman Trophy. That had nothing to do with it.
"And a lot of people were saying that I needed to think about my family. Well, I was. That's my family out there. And I was thinking about my family.
"Most of the people who make comments like that never played a day of football in their lives. You know, football is different than basketball. Football is different than everything.
"That was my huddle. That was my team out there. I had to get back out there. It was just one of those things that I had to deal with. I was in a lot of pain, but I dealt with it.
"If I had felt that I was putting myself in harm's way, I wouldn't have went out there. And the ?Old Man' (Marshall Coach Bob Pruett) wouldn't have let me back out there.
"I dealt with it. I have to be honest with you, I would do it 10 more times if I had to. I would go out there and try to help my team. Because when I came back out, I really did think we could beat those guys at that point.
"And I think my teammates felt we could come back and beat those guys. But at the end, everything started giving out on me. I was down on "E.' I didn't have anymore energy left.
"But I would rather feel that way and know that I gave everything I had, than to not go out there and do nothing."
Leftwich does admit, however, that during the trip back home after the game he was afraid the worst-case scenario might come true.
"Saturday night, I feared the worst," he said. "I kind of know my body. My body talked to me. At the time, my body told me, ?Hey, you might be kind of done.'
"But that's what the doctors are for. That's why you've got the specialists, that's why you've got the guys that make all the money -- to put somewhat of a smile on my face.
"It's not a good thing. But it's not as bad as we thought."
A trip to Columbus, Ohio, Sunday for an examination by the orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery provided Leftwich with some light at the end of the tunnel.
"It was some light," said Leftwich, while watching his teammates slosh through a rainy practice session Tuesday. "It wasn't a whole bunch of light. I'd rather have gotten through that game and been able to go out there and practice with the guys.
"I know it's raining, but I'm a football player. And that's what I like doing. It's tough being on the side."
It's tough because the resilient Leftwich never has been hurt badly enough to miss action.
"I've been hurt a lot, but I never was injured," said the senior Heisman Trophy candidate. "I've never been injured like this. To have somebody else in there for me . . . no offense to Stan (Hill) or Graham (Gochneaur), but it's somebody else in your huddle.
"Somebody else is out there running the team, doing what you're supposed to be doing as a player. For me, I kind of felt like I let those guys down Saturday.
"I know those guys don't want to hear that. But it's just the way I think. That's just how I am. I feel as though I went out there and kind of let those guys down.
"I know I don't have any control over if I get injured or not. But, man, I keep asking myself, ?Could I have done something a little differently? Turned my leg this way or threw the ball to a quicker receiver?'
"But, at the time, it was a touchdown. When I threw the ball and it left my hands, I was thinking touchdown. And the only reason we didn't get a touchdown is there was pass interference.
"I didn't know what happened on that play. I thought he caught the ball. But I didn't hear the crowd's reaction. I did hear a little cheer, so I thought he scored at the time.
"But when I looked up, we were at the 1-yard line."
And Leftwich's left shin was on fire.
"It was instant pain," he said.
Yet, even as Leftwich hobbles around on crutches with an air-splint on his injured left shin, it's difficult to imagine this courageously competitive quarterback not playing against the arch-rival Miami RedHawks at 8 p.m. Tuesday in a game televised nationally by ESPN from Marshall Stadium.
"You know how I am," said Leftwich. "It would be pushing it. If it happens, it's going to be something special."
But being special is Leftwich's, well, specialty.
"I know," he said. "So, hopefully, I can get out there."
Is that a hint?
"It's hard to say," said Leftwich. "I don't want to say, ?Hey, there's a chance' and everybody think, ?Hey, he's going to play. He said he's going to be there 100 percent on Tuesday.'
"But I don't want to say I'm not going to be there and then end up being there. But one thing I can tell you. It's a week away and you can get a lot better in a week.
"It's just a good thing we didn't have to play this Tuesday. If we had to play today, there's no way. There's no way I could do anything. Even Saturday there probably would be no way."
That's the silver lining of this injury. Leftwich has 10 days to heal.
"I've got a lot more days to try to get better," he said. "And, hopefully, I can get better by next Tuesday. Nobody knows. It's tough to say. It's getting better. It's getting well a little too slow, but I'm day-to-day. We're going to see what happens. Only time will tell.
"We're not going to try to rush it. But, at the same time, we're trying to speed it up. Right now, it's pretty sore. I still can't walk on it.
"But I'm getting treatment around the clock, 24 hours a day.
"I'm trying to do whatever it takes. I've got everything. I'm using a lot of ice. You just do what you can to make it better.
"But it's all about time. Will I be healthy enough? Will the days give me enough time to heal? That's what it's all about. You can do all the treatment in the world, but it's all about time and when your body can recover.
"Hopefully, it can. But Tuesday will be pushing it. Tuesday will really be pushing it. We'll see, we'll see. My status is day-to-day. Hopefully, I can wake up tomorrow and go out there and practice."
