LeGrand leads his team from his wheelchair

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- When he finally went through that tunnel onto the Rutgers football field again, so many things went through Eric LeGrand's mind and heart -- under his No. 52 jersey -- that it was difficult to sort it all. He does clearly remember what went in his ears. His teammates were telling him, "This one's for you."

Really, though, it was for them. LeGrand, the Rutgers player paralyzed from the neck down in a game last Oct. 16, maneuvered his motorized wheelchair on that snow covered turf in that bone chilling cold as a service to his teammates as they were preparing to play their nemesis, West Virginia. This one was for them -- and for all the people everywhere who have been inspired by his outlook and his determination to keep going.

No one really knows how hard it is for him to keep that smile on his face. No one knows how tough it is to be out in the cold, although some people close to him have an idea. They realize how hard he is working to someday get through that tunnel on his own two feet.

So it was a huge moment for all those teammates who walked slowly beside him and behind him, through the tunnel to the big scarlet "R" at midfield and off to the sideline as the band played the Rutgers fight song.

"It just felt so good to be with my team, coming out of that tunnel," he said in a suite on press box level at halftime of Rutgers' 41-31 loss. "I didn't think I was going to get emotional, but I did have to fight back the tears when I saw my teammates crying."

Rutgers played a spirited first half after that, taking a 31-21 lead marked by two rushing touchdowns by Jawan Jamison. It was surprisingly high scoring, 52 points. "That's a good number," said LeGrand, whose jersey made it a magic number.

But the second half was just the opposite for the home team. Freshman quarterback Gary Nova threw two interceptions while his counterpart Geno Smith threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. It was Rutgers' 17th loss in a row to West Virginia.

Brandon Coleman, who just missed catching what might have been a pivotal fake field goal touchdown try, said, "I just wish we could have pulled that one out for Eric because he's done a lot for us emotionally."

This was one game in which the emotional peak came before the kickoff. Coach Greg Schiano, who visited LeGrand every day after the injury last year, stood near him in the tunnel and said, "Are you ready?" LeGrand said, "Let's do this."

LeGrand has made progress. He takes courses from Rutgers on his computer. He has more than 21,000 Twitter followers. He appears on pre-game and postgame radio shows. With help, he can stand for 40 minutes at a time. He had carte blanche to lead the team onto the field any time he wanted and he insisted on the West Virginia game, not backing down when he heard the forecast and saw the snow.

"Of course I was worried about him. I'm always worried about him," said his mother Karen, who devotes two hours every morning to helping her son get out of bed. "Once he gets cold, it's very difficult for him to warm up. He didn't want to wear a sweatshirt, he wanted to wear his jersey."

Scott Vallone, the defensive tackle from St. Anthony's on Long Island, said, "Eric was great about it. He said, 'Don't get too into the emotions. Realize that you have a game to play, a game to win.' "

LeGrand said he didn't even feel the cold. "The adrenaline was going so much," he said, adding that, in retrospect, he realized what it meant to his team. His mother said, "Hopefully, it gave them a little bit of a charge for today. That was the main thing. He did this more for them, he really did."