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After catching his first career touchdown pass for No. 3 Oklahoma State, Kye Staley dropped to a knee and said a prayer of thanks.
Not just for a chance to score a touchdown on homecoming. He's thankful he can even walk.
Staley suffered a devastating right knee injury in preseason practice two years ago and gave up the game last year when his recovery wasn't progressing. But now, he's back on the field and contributing as the starting fullback for the Cowboys in their second 8-0 start in school history.
''It's just been long. I still remember the days when I just got off the surgery and wasn't able to do anything, wasn't able to walk,'' Staley said.
''I wasn't able to do anything. Just the progression that it took and the dedication and the hard work has finally paid off.''
The first touchdown of his comeback came Saturday when he caught a short pass from Brandon Weeden and ran 18 yards into the end zone. He was greeted by joyful teammates eager to celebrate another rewarding step in his recovery.
''He's been calling for that play for a long time. To get it dialed up and to get it to go the way it did, that was awesome. I kind of had chills when I went over and celebrated with him. That one was pretty good.''
Staley was a prominent member in Oklahoma State's 2008 recruiting class after he led Guthrie to the Class 5A state championship the year before. The Under Armour All-American briefly wavered in his verbal commitment when Bobby Petrino was hired at Arkansas and started courting him, but he eventually stuck with the Cowboys.
Staley redshirted his first year in Stillwater and never made it into a game before injuring his knee during training camp in August 2009. He moved from running back to linebacker and tried to make a comeback, but decided to give up football for good just before last season started.
''It was probably one of the toughest decisions of my life because I've played football for as long as I could remember, and football has always been a big part of me,'' Staley said. ''I just had to look out for myself because I know I won't be playing football until I'm like 90 or 100.''
Over time, though, he started to reconsider and he eventually decided to give it another try.
''I just felt like I had given up too soon and just didn't wait and let time heal me ... and I'm just glad I made the right decision to come back and play,'' Staley said.
The Cowboys accepted him back but weren't sure what to expect.
''We weren't even sure we wanted him back,'' offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. ''I mean, what's Kye going to do? He's got the bad knee. It's going to blow out some time. We're not going to have him. We're going to count on him and then we're not going to have him.
''And all he does is (he's) just enjoyable to be around and a leader on our team. And given the opportunities, he loves to be a part of it. He loves to play football.''
Staley was even chosen as a team captain for the game at Missouri two weeks ago.
''Anything that Kye does is an enjoyable thing for me to watch because of what he's gone through, and he's been a huge part of our team,'' coach Mike Gundy said.
''What he gives us, not only as a player, you can't even imagine just as a kid. ... You're always excited for the right people,'' Monken added. ''When guys do things the right way, there's a genuine enjoyment being around them.''
To a certain extent, the Cowboys had a feeling Staley's touchdown was coming. The play was designed to send All-American receiver Justin Blackmon on a post route on the right side of the field then leak Staley out into the vacated area. With Blackmon, last year's Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver, providing such a threat, OSU expected the safety to follow him and leave Staley's underneath route open.
Staley caught the ball and turned to see nothing but open field ahead and said he thought: ''I have to score this.''
''It was a great experience,'' Staley said. ''Coach tells us all the time to act like we've been there. I tell him, `If I get there, I don't know how to act.' I didn't know how to act when I got there.
''I just celebrated and thanked the man above for finally getting me to that place in my life.''
