Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 4, 1994 TAG: 9405040064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harrison, who missed the entire 1993 season because of a gruesome leg injury, has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.
The ruling was almost unprecedented because Harrison never dropped out of school, a prerequisite in previous cases when a sixth year of eligibility has been awarded.
"It's like a new lease on my career," said Harrison, whose eligibility otherwise would have expired at the end of the 1994 season.
"Coming into last season, I had high hopes. Getting hurt was pretty much the last straw. With the one year I had left, I wasn't sure I could be productive."
Harrison was projected as a starter at offensive tackle until Aug. 21, when another player rolled into him and caused Harrison's right leg to snap above the ankle. It was a bloody scene reminiscent of the injury that ended the career of Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann.
"When I first got hurt, there was something mentioned to me by the doctors about a sixth year," said Harrison, who started three games as a redshirt sophomore in 1992. "We thought it was an avenue worth pursuing, [but] it rarely had been granted."
Usually, the NCAA gives student-athletes five years in which to complete their four seasons of eligibility. As originally written, Rule 30.6.1 permitted a waiver of the five-year, 10-semester rule only in cases when a student-athlete was unable to attend school.
"After we filed our appeal [in November], legislation was submitted to change the rule," said Lynn Mitchell, UVa's compliance officer. "So, we asked that the appeal be put on hold until after the [NCAA] convention. At least in our case, we did not feel Chris should be penalized for staying in school."
Harrison, although his right leg was in a cast for the entire first semester, took advantage of a service that provides door-to-door transportation for disabled UVa students. He was able to complete his academic requirements in four years and will graduate May 22 with a degree in commerce.
The extra season of eligibility will enable him to complete work on a master's degree while still on scholarship.
"It's a big benefit from that sense," said Harrison, a resident of Washington, D.C. "It shocked me because I really hadn't planned on getting the sixth year. I just thought we were making the appeal as a formality and it would be rejected. Everybody was so pessimistic."
Whether or not he received the sixth year, Harrison's return to health is essential to the immediate future of a line that loses All-American Mark Dixon and fellow All-ACC selection Jim Reid.
"He was in a class with Dixon and Reid before he got hurt," said Danny Wilmer, the UVa assistant who is responsible for the offensive tackles and tight ends. "He's got tremendous strength and power and great mobility. I'd remember watching film and thinking he was as good a defensive lineman as we had recruited."
At 6 feet 3 and 282 pounds, Harrison became too bulky to play the defensive line, but he was careful not to gain weight during rehabilitation.
"What helped me was, when I first got hurt I lost 15 or 20 pounds," he said. "I didn't eat for the first three weeks. I was so depressed, I didn't feel like eating."
Gerry Capone, an assistant athletic director at UVa, said one motivation for the appeal was the possibility that Harrison's injury might prevent him from playing during the 1994 season.
"That point of view was never stated to me, but I'm sure the thought was going around the staff," said Harrison, who has a steel rod in the injured leg. "I'm still driven to get back [in the fall] and play as well as I can play, but it's a little more comforting knowing I've got two years left."
As recently as two months ago, Harrison could not run without a limp and he missed all of spring practice. At the end of April, he estimated the flexibility in his right leg at 70-75 percent and he expects it to be close to 100 percent by the start of fall practice.
The mental aspect of getting hit on a surgically repaired leg will be the final barrier.
"That's the one thing I worry about the most," Harrison said. "I'm not worried about my leg anymore because it's almost healed. The fact that something like that happened . . . it does kind of frighten me and does make me a little hesitant.
"I hope, when I start playing, that will all go away. I've talked a lot to Brendan Kilfeather, who had a severe neck injury not long after he got here. He says you just have to try and put it out of your mind and do what comes natural."
by CNB