Prothro's injury still casting long shadow at Alabama
By Dennis Dodd | CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer Follow DennisTyrone Prothro was always hard to catch. Now he's hard to find.
"I just hung up with him on my cell phone," says Michael Shortt, his coach at Cleburne County (Ala.) High School. "That's hard to believe you called. He's going to be here in 30 minutes."
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| Mike Shula might still be around if not for Tyrone Prothro's injury. (US Presswire) |
Alabama's one-time next great hope is pretty much a ghost these days. You would be too if a gruesome double left-leg fracture snatched your livelihood away. In a game against Florida almost 18 months ago, the junior was carried out of Bryant-Denny Stadium on a gurney. His Alabama teammates took a knee, almost as one, hoping he wasn't done.
Sitting upright, he shook a fist, pointed to the sky and was gone from football.
Forever?
A cable network later gave him an award for the play of the year. Prothro's catch on the back of Southern Miss defender Jasper Faulk is a YouTube staple. It has been immortalized by college football artist Daniel Moore, as his "The Catch" is one of his hottest sellers.
Prothro gained 8,099 all-purpose yards as a receiver/running back/quarterback/etc. at Cleburne County. That's the third-highest total in a state where having the third-highest total means something. Playing "slash" again in college, "Pro" averaged 17 yards every time he touched the ball.
Prothro had speed, charisma. He was a bit of a Moses leading the moribund Tide out of the college football desert. But if he doesn't play this fall it will be 2 1/2 seasons out of action. Prothro would most likely need a waiver from the NCAA to get a sixth year eligibility in 2008.
"He told me he would play, no matter what it takes, his last year," Shortt said.
Les Fowler, the Alabama doctor who performed the surgery, described the injury as an "open comminuted fracture." A comminuted fracture is described as bone that is "broken, splintered or crushed into a number of pieces." Now add the word "open" to that.
An infection set in. There have been whispers that his care was mishandled. When was the last time you heard of a broken leg that required a 26-day hospital stay?
"It looked like a field injury in the war," Shortt said of the initial injury.
On a recent visit to Cleburne, Prothro played basketball and then bench pressed 395 pounds, according to Shortt. The coach hoped Prothro would come around while his players were lifting, to show them what is possible.
"I don't even look down at it," Shortt said of the brace Prothro wears. "He won't talk about it."
It's been a long two years. 'Bama football hasn't been the same since Prothro was injured. There has been a dearth of playmakers. The program changed coaches again. It went 10-2 in 2005, but who knows what difference Prothro could have made in late-season losses to Auburn and LSU by a total of 13 points?
A former 'Bama assistant later told Shortt, "If he's still playing, I'm still at Alabama. (Mike) Shula's still there."
Prothro isn't forgotten, just laying low. Would you want to talk about the endless hours of rehab with no promise of a return? After the injury, he got a signed ball from Georgia players. The president sent a note. He limped out on the field for the Auburn game to deliver a game ball. He was the first to greet Nick Saban when the new coach entered the football building for the first time.
Now? Sympathy is great. Compassion is laudable. But soon Saban might have to make a hard decision on Prothro's scholarship.
Everybody wants to see him play again.
No matter what it takes.
But when?
"If God wants him to play," Shortt said. "He'll play."
