COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A little more than two years ago,
Henry Josey ripped his left knee to shreds making a cut. He tore the
ACL, MCL and patellar tendon on a 2-yard gain against Texas at home, an
injury so extensive Missouri coach Gary Pinkel thought it looked like
his star tailback had been in an automobile
accident.
It was serious enough that Texas coach Mack
Brown crossed the field at a hushed Faurot Field to have a
look.
In the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, No. 3
Auburn will see a player who's made it all the way
back.
Coaches and teammates couldn't have been more
pleased that the 5-foot-9, 190-pound junior got a chance to really
stretch his legs on the go-ahead touchdown late in the victory over
Texas A&M that wrapped up the SEC East.
"You
saw Henry, when he got that one hole how fast he took off," center Evan
Boehm said. "And that's something special to see. What better person to
get that than Henry?"
Josey is a cinch for a second
1,000-yard season in two years starting for the fifth-ranked Tigers
(11-1, 7-1), needing just 50 yards with two games remaining. He's busted
four 50-yard-plus gains this season, serving notice with a 68-yard TD
in the opener and scoring on an 86-yard run at
Kentucky.
He has eight runs of 20 yards or longer and
is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Though it's down from a scintillating
8.1-yard average in 2011, Josey believes he's a better back
now.
"I hope I'm better than I used to be," Josey
said.
Faster, too?
"I think so,"
he said.
There's no doubt he's an inspirational
presence, what Pinkel refers to as
"untouchable."
"You don't say a bad word about Henry
Josey," Pinkel adds, "no matter what."
Josey was
all-Big 12 as a sophomore with 1,168 yards despite missing the last
three games with an injury that required multiple operations. He spent
all of 2012 rehabbing.
"We saw it every day, just
tirelessly working, and coming back mentally, too," guard Max Copeland
said. "You've got to be a special dude to come back from something like
that mentally."
Missouri has been careful not to
overload Josey his first season back, plus there's plenty of depth.
Sophomore Russell Hansbrough (624 yards, 6.3-yard average, four TDs) and
junior Marcus Murphy (561, 6.9, nine TDs) are speedsters, and
quarterback James Franklin (412, 4.5, three TDs) is a shifty
threat.
"Sometimes we don't even block the right guys
and he still scores," right guard Conner McGovern said of Murphy.
"That's why we call him `Magic Murph.' But we definitely take a little
extra pride with Henry, with what he's been through and how he's
sacrificed."
That balance definitely has Auburn's
attention.
"You can pull out the sheets and look,"
Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said. "They're right up at
the top in total offense, rushing and
passing."
Running backs coach Brian Jones said he's
made it a point to keep Josey fresh for "crunch time" like the
third-and-1 play that produced the winning score against Texas
A&M.
"He's sitting on the bench; at times
he's all by himself," Jones said. "He's very aware of what's going on,
very aware of the situation."
On the deciding play,
McGovern and center Mitch Morse opened big holes. Wide receiver Jimmie
Hunt contributed, too.
"All three of those guys had
great blocks on that play, and Henry finished it off," offensive
coordinator Josh Henson said. "It's always great when you see a guy
return from an injury like he had and have the success he's had. It just
makes you feel good."
