The Miracle Walks Back To Stardom

Adam Taliaferro felt that Saturday, without any intention of playing a single snap.

The once-paralyzed 19-year-old stood in the tunnel leading onto Beaver Stadium before Penn State's season opener against No. 2 Miami, clad in sweatpants and a No. 43 jersey.

It was a magical moment. The scoreboard flashed the words, "We Believe." Flashbulbs illuminated the newly renovated stadium. The crowd roared, giving a standing ovation to the Nittany Lions' very own miracle.

Many football players dream of running out of a tunnel at a Division I powerhouse such as Penn State. But Taliaferro never could have imagined that merely running from the tunnel would be the culmination -- not the jumping-off point -- of his dream.

What happened on the field Saturday was merely a game. Statistics and scores meant so little, while Taliaferro's jog onto the field pierced so many people's hearts. He swatted teammates' hands, raised his arms to the crowd and broke out in a full jog at the 15-yard line.

An amazing feat for someone who only 11 months earlier lay motionless on the moist grass of Ohio Stadium. In an effort to tackle Jerry Westbrooks Sept. 23, Taliaferro shattered a bone in his neck and bruised his spinal cord. His parents, Addie and Andre, watched on TV as Westbrooks stood up and regained his composure while their son remained immobile on the field.

He didn't move a muscle -- because he couldn't.

Doctors told Taliaferro's parents that he had little chance of ever walking again.

Paralysis is a horrible blow to anyone, but to a football player who dazzled recruiters as a two-way standout during high school and promised to make big plays for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman cornerback, the injury more than smashed part of his spinal cord -- it crushed his dreams, his heart.

But it didn't take Taliaferro long to rebuild quite a different dream. One not quite as flashy as becoming a pro football star, but a simpler dream. Taliaferro was determined to walk again.

Only 12 days after his injury occurred, Taliaferro entered Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. For three long, frustrating weeks, he couldn't move at all. He struggled through six-hour therapy sessions of merely trying to wiggle his toes -- a challenge the athlete would have scoffed at a month earlier when he was running alongside many of the nation's top football players.

But Taliaferro persevered, and, in the wake of his journey, he has made more of an impact on people than he ever could have as just another football player.

Scott Brown and Sam Carchidi encapsulated Taliaferro's inspiring story in the recently released book "Miracle in the Making." The fact that you cannot get your hands on a copy of the book anywhere in the Triangle is a testament to how much Taliaferro's tale has moved people.

So much of the attention surrounding football players is negative. And many times the players bring it on themselves.

Dozens of players are kicked off their college teams every season for stupidity involving drugs, alcohol, fighting or worse. Players trying to be badasses throw away their careers for no good reason.

And then there is Taliaferro, a redeeming face in an increasingly troubled sport. His run onto the field symbolized more than just a personal comeback. It inspired everyone to take a deep breath and take one step -- no matter how difficult that may be -- in the right direction.

Kelly Lusk can be reached at lusk@email.unc.edu.