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Florida's Brandon Antwine is getting daily treatment on his back, shoulder and knee - preventive maintenance for a 300-pound defensive tackle trying to stay healthy for the first time in his college career.
Maybe this will be the year.
Maybe all the hoping, wishing, praying and finger-crossing will pay off. Maybe all the time spent on the sideline, in a hospital bed, in a wheelchair, in physical therapy and in the training room won't be in vain. Maybe all the adversity will be over.
''This is the best I've felt in a while,'' Antwine said. ''Every time I get up in the morning, I thank God for another day.''
Antwine has reason to be grateful.
In a sport saturated with comeback stories, Antwine's stands out. He overcame a career-threatening back injury, recovered from a torn knee ligament and then fought through a painful shoulder injury. Now, he has a chance to play meaningful snaps - maybe even earn a starting spot - for the Gators.
''Brandon Antwine might be as good a defensive lineman as we have,'' assistant head coach Dan McCarney said. ''He just hasn't been able to stay healthy. He's healthy again now and he's a tremendous player.''
Antwine, a fifth-year senior from Garland, Texas, came to Florida as one of the top defensive line recruits in the country in 2006. He turned down offers from Southern California and Oklahoma, moved farther from home and had plans to be a star in Gainesville.
But his career has been more about treatment and recovery than tackles and sacks.
In October 2007, Antwine was hospitalized with severe back pain following a practice. Antwine had been diagnosed with the trait for the blood disease sickle cell, which doesn't allow him to get as much oxygen into his body during intense exertion.
Though medically cleared to play, Antwine remained under close watch of the training staff.
His back pain concerned trainers about a potential sickling episode - blockage of the small blood vessels at the muscle level that can cause abnormal blood flow and lead to pain - so Antwine was taken to a hospital. He had a battery of tests and was diagnosed with lumbar spine myonecrosis, a degenerative loss of muscle in his lower back. He spent three weeks in the hospital dealing with back spasms, sometimes multiple times a day.
He went though rehabilitation and physical therapy, and for nearly two months, needed a wheelchair to get around.
''I feel like that was the hardest thing I've ever went through in my life,'' Antwine said.
He continued therapy through spring 2008, and by early summer, he was cleared for football-related activities. He played in seven games in 2008, and coach Urban Meyer called his return a ''medical miracle.''
But making his first start against Florida State, Antwine tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Playing on a rain-soaked field in Tallahassee, he planted his foot on a loose piece of sod. His body went one way and his knee went the other.
''I was just like, 'No, not again,''' Antwine said. ''It was hard. I was just trying to think positive, 'I'm all right. I'm all right.' I wanted to get back out there, but then they told me I tore it up.''
He missed spring practice and part of summer workouts, but returned in time for the 2009 season opener. His comeback was short-lived, though.
He injured his shoulder against Kentucky in early October, missed a game, then re-injured it at Mississippi State. He sat out five more weekends, then returned for the Southeastern Conference championship game against Alabama. He had surgery after the game.
He never considered quitting, though.
''The only thing that entered my mind was, 'God, why me? Why so many injuries?''' Antwine said. ''But quitting never touched me.''
Antwine was back at practice this spring, but avoided contact drills until earlier this month. He is still getting treatment during training camp, but insists the stretching and strengthening exercises are ''preventive measures.''
He's competing with Lawrence Marsh and Omar Hunter for playing time at nose tackle. Teammates, coaches, fans and family members are rooting for him.
''He's looking great right now,'' Hunter said. ''He's telling me every day he's in the best shape of his life, and I see it the way he's practicing.''
But can he stay healthy?
''He's had some major problems, and any of those could have ended your career,'' McCarney said. ''Most people in the country and most guys I've ever known probably would have done that and still gotten the scholarship and still gotten the degree and not had to go through the pain and the heartache and the frustration of trying to come back and be a quality player.
''But he's doing that right now. I just love the kid. If he gets on the field again for us, it's a huge plus and a bonus. He means so much to out team just being out there.''
