Opinion

By Dave Curtis

updated 2:30 p.m. ET July 17, 2008

The greatest pain for an injured college football player comes every Saturday.

All week, they can sate the desire to play by sitting in meetings and staying fit. But come game day, when the championships are decided, they are the chumps on crutches, in casts, stuck on the sidelines to dream about next year.

Next year is here for a slew of probable first-stringers who missed much or all of last season. From Boston College to Southern California, starting lineups figure to get a boost from letterwinners whose joints and bones have healed enough to get them on the field.

And until they take that field on a fall Saturday, their recoveries, they say, remain incomplete.
"Last year, you're standing and watching an offense that you were in, that should have you out there," Pitt quarterback Bill Stull said by telephone. "I can't wait. I've been looking forward to this season for a whole year."

Stull started last year's opener against Eastern Michigan before ripping up his thumb on a third-quarter handoff. He watched freshmen understudies Pat Bostick and Kevan Smith complete a 5-7 fall, disappointing even after a season-ending upset of then-No. 2 West Virginia.

But Stull, a redshirt junior, beat incumbent starter Bostick for the No. 1 job this spring, leading a platoon of Panthers back from sickbay. Receiver Derek Kinder, back from a torn ACL (the only college football initials worse than "BCS"), figures to rank as Stull's top target. And defensive tackle Gus Mustakas has rebounded from a knee tear, too, and might start along Pitt's front.

All that's left for the threesome, and all the guys returning from injury, is proving their worth come September. And don't sleep on what a guy can do after missing a chunk of last year.

Need proof?

At the start of the 2003 season, Jason White, who had missed much of the past two seasons after shredding ligaments in both knees, took over Oklahoma's offense. The cynics snickered, figuring White's poor health would cripple OU's hopes for a magical season. But the Sooners ended up playing for a national title, and their supposed sorry quarterback had a new adjective preceding his name: Heisman Trophy winner.

There might not be a Jason White in this bunch. But here's a list of guys with situations similar to his, and Stull's, who could lift their teams come Saturdays in the fall:

LB Brian Toal, Boston College: Toal, recovered from surgery on a torn labrum, needs to boost a defensive front expected to cover for the Eagles' key losses all around the field. DT B.J. Raji also returns after missing 2007 due to academics.

DT Charles Alexander, LSU: Alexander's recovery from a torn ACL should fill out what should rank as the nation's top defensive line. The crop could include five pros and should ease the loss of Glenn Dorsey, who went fifth in the NFL draft to Kansas City.

RB Kordell Young, Rutgers: Ray Rice's replacement was scheduled to get a few carries a game behind him in 2007. A knee injury restricted his relationship with Rice to conversations about how to be a great back.

"He had so much game experience he tried to pass on to me," Young said by phone. "Pass reads, how to read the safety rotations. All that is going to help."

Young must first win the starting job - August will feature a derby of up to five potential lead backs in Piscataway.

DB Antonio Gaines, Tennessee: Gaines injured his ACL in week two against Southern Mississippi; in week three, the Vols gave up six offensive touchdowns at Florida. He'll be joined in the secondary by Demetrice Morley, back at UT after spending last fall in community college.

DE John Williams, Oklahoma: This is Williams' last chance - he tore his ACL in the 2005 season opener, then tore his Achilles' tendon last September at Tulsa. The sixth-year senior has shown promise in his limited time and will be back to contact drills come August.

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