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Returning Through Pain, Prayers, Physical Therapy

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By KATHERINE SMITH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

Video: Grossi In Physical Therapy

TAMPA - Zack Grossi appeared to be praying.

On the floor of the Florida Orthopaedic Institute's Carrollwood office, Grossi rested his outstretched body on his forearms and elbows, with his hands clasped together in front.

He might as well have been praying. It was going to take a little faith, and a lot of rehabilitation, including the painful exercise he was performing, to get back on the football field.

The pain in his right shoulder served as a reminder of what a lapse in judgment nearly cost him. A year of waiting for his starting shot, a year in which he watched Stephen Garcia lead the Dragons' offense, had come to this point.

'I was just so scared that everything we did, all the work we put in over the summer, all the meetings and watching the film and all that lifting would go to waste because of one play and one injury,' Grossi said. 'And now it really makes you realize that you never know when this thing can end and you really do gotta play every play like it's your last.'

Jefferson lost its regular-season opener to Hillsborough on Aug. 31 and nearly lost its starting quarterback for the season. On a routine play in the third quarter, Grossi, the quarterback with a fullback's mentality, scrambled for a first down, then lowered his right shoulder and drove into an awaiting Hillsborough linebacker.

The pain that immediately pulsed through Grossi's shoulder was the result of a bruise to his AC joint. His status for the Dragons' home opener against Robinson the next Friday night was in doubt.

'My competitive nature took over and I was just trying to get as much as I could in,' Grossi said. 'I was just trying to spark the team up and maybe get a big hit.'

It wasn't until five days after he took the hit that Grossi was able to raise his right arm over his head. With Robinson lurking in just two days, his return to the field didn't look very promising.

'I didn't think he was going to play because of his lack of range of motion and the amount of pain he was in,' said Micki Lucas, a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer at Florida Orthopaedic Institute. 'I'm shocked he got ready.'

Credit Grossi's determination, along with the two players behind him waiting in the wings for their starting chance, for healing so quickly.

One of those players, Doug Williams Jr., is the son of former Bucs quarterback and Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams. He replaced Grossi in the Hillsborough game and led the team to its third and final score of the night.

'They're in the same position I was last year behind Garcia,' Grossi said. 'It really is just one snap, one bad ankle, one bad shoulder and then they're the man.'

As if the pain in his shoulder wasn't bad enough, Grossi saw the bulging vein in Coach Mike Fenton's neck and knew he was in trouble.

'I was wanting to come out of my skin,' Fenton said. 'We've discussed it. His coach, Coach Jeremy Earle, has discussed it at length. You get the first down, you get out of bounds. You're not going to do us any good on the bench, taking a hit, and I guess he had a lapse and thought he was a fullback for a few minutes and he wanted to go and try to go and run the guy over.

'And you saw what happened. So it wasn't very smart.'

Grossi paid his penance with a series of demanding exercises Lucas ran him through, all of which tested his arm strength and several that caused him to grimace in pain.

Grossi was attempting one-armed pushups while balancing on a ball when teammate Gorby Loreus chimed in. Loreus, the Dragons' starting linebacker who has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring strain during the Aug. 24 Kickoff Classic preseason game, was stretched out on a training table getting a massage.

'I'm having a good old time,' Loreus said.

Loreus watched in fascination as Grossi balanced his body on his forearms and elbows, an exercise the quarterback said he was all too familiar with.

'I got in trouble once and I had to walk like this for 100 yards,' Grossi said.

'What did you do?' Loreus asked.

'I didn't dress for ROTC and then I gave this guy some lip,' Grossi said.

After he wrapped up his workout, Grossi stood in a waiting room while Lucas discussed his progress with a doctor. He needed that doctor's approval to get clearance to play Friday night. Lucas walked out of the doctor's office with a disappointing look on her face. Then she flashed the consent form, signed by the doctor, as her face lit up in a smile.

'That's the golden ticket,' she said.

That 'ticket' allowed Grossi to play against Robinson. After completing just nine of 21 passes for 101 yards in the Hillsborough loss, Grossi rebounded, going 20-for-29 for 302 yards and four touchdowns in his team's 35-6 win.

The win, and the fact Grossi played a big part in it, made all the hard work during the week worth it.

'You know, it's just a little more adversity to go through,' Grossi said. 'We'll get through it like we did with everything else. And hopefully, when we come out in the end, it'll be better.'

COMING NEXT WEEK: Junior wide receiver Devion Falconer has a long scar down the back of his neck that serves as a reminder of the surgery he endured to allow him to play football again. What isn't visible are the emotional scars from the automobile accident that broke his neck and claimed the life of his father.

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Prep Sports for a video this afternoon of Jefferson's Zack Grossi strengthening his shoulder during his workout routine.

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