An Amazing Field Presence

SAN JOSE —  The prosthesis with the carbon graphite shaft, that’s the one Neal Parry wants to wear in his San Jose State uniform, because that would mean he is playing football again.

Actually, he already is back on the football field, just as he predicted some 10 months ago, soon after he lost a portion of his right leg as a result of a serious injury in a game. When the Spartans play USC in the Coliseum to open the season Saturday, he will be with his teammates, standing on the sideline and charting defenses for linebacker coach Kenwick Thompson.

The 21-year-old from Sonora said Thursday that he’s going to redshirt his junior year, then come back strong next season. It is his hope to play special teams for the Spartans, which is what he was doing when he was injured Oct. 14 against Texas El Paso.

He says he wants to run downfield again because that’s why he plays football.

“I love special teams,” he said. “I love running into people.”

He was injured when someone ran into him. Parry fell to the ground when a teammate rolled into the back of his leg, severing an artery and nerve and causing compound fractures of two bones. The injury was so severe, surgeons at Stanford Medical Center had to amputate Parry’s leg about 10 inches below the knee.

He vowed to play again with a prosthesis and he insists he’s going to make it happen.

“I don’t just throw comments like that around just to get people to talk to me,” he said. “I know I’ll be back on the field eventually. It’s just a matter of time.”

Spartan Coach Fitz Hill has encouraged Parry in his quest, but has advised him to move slowly and cautiously. Parry does calisthenics with the rest of the Spartans, but does not take part in contact drills ... not yet, at least. He says that’s probably about a month off. But Hill also said Parry isn’t necessarily guaranteed playing time.

“He will have to be at least the equivalent of anybody at the position,” Hill said.

The fact that his son has gotten this far is more than Nick Parry could have imagined. Neal Parry stayed with his father in Sonora from December until the spring semester began at San Jose State.

The elder Parry is happy about Neal’s progress, and not just because he’s back on the field.

“I’m just glad to get him out of my refrigerator,” Nick Parry said. “But it’s just been awesome. It’s not like he wants to prove anything to anyone except himself. He wants to finish what he started. You play four years of college football and that’s what he intends to do ... only differently.”

Parry attracted national attention after his injury when President Clinton stopped to visit him on the practice field on his way to a speaking engagement. Parry said he told the president to make space on his calendar to watch him play again.

Parry went through two separate fittings for two kinds of prostheses, one made of layered carbon fiber for running and the other for everyday use.

There is precedent for a player with a prosthesis in Division I-A football. In 1974, Brian Hall kicked for Texas Tech with an artificial foot. However, kicking is one thing. Blocking, tackling and running are different skills for a player with an artificial limb.

Parry says he’s going to try. At some point, he is certain he will again wear his No. 32 Spartan jersey and be back on the field, running and trying to make a tackle, which is exactly what he was doing when he was hurt. He has some fear about another injury, but he tries not to dwell on it.

“It crosses my mind all the time,” he said. “But that’s how you get hurt sometimes, by being tentative, so you have to get after it like nothing’s going to happen. Besides, if something does happen, well, maybe I just wasn’t meant to play football again.”

Then again, maybe he was.