Gator Country

Urban Meyer hesitates to call the return of Brandon Antwine to the playing field a medical miracle, but he does admit that trainers and the Florida medical staff think it’s nothing short of miraculous that Antwine is not only practicing but will play Saturday evening against LSU.

Antwine went down last season with a back injury. Nothing all that unusual there. Nose tackle is one of the more injury-susceptible positions on the football field and back injuries are almost as common as knee injuries there. What was unusual about Antwine’s injury is that his kidneys began to malfunction to the point of almost shutting down and the muscles in his back began to atrophy at an alarming rate. Antwine was hospitalized last November and his condition was listed as serious.

As painful as that might sound, it was even more painful for Antwine to endure. Last fall, the injury was thought to be career-threatening. Back in the spring, there was some thought that Antwine might be able to return to the playing field in 2009. Antwine responded to treatment and medication better than any doctor could have imagined. It was too late to get him on the 105-man roster when the Gators started August practice, but Antwine did return to practice once classes began.

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About the author

Franz Beard

Franz has been writing sports for 42 years in various outposts like Gainesville, Jacksonville, Savannah, Richmond and Miami. He's been writing for Gator Country since 1999 and has served as the site's managing editor since 2004. He is also a contributing writer to Gator Country Magazine.

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