14. Amputee Jacob Rainey returns to the field
Woodberry Forest (Va.) quarterback Jacob Rainey, a Division I college prospect, made a gallant return to the football field a year after he broke his knee in a scrimmage, which severed an artery. The injury led to partial amputation of his right leg. He played limited minutes in 2012 but remarkably recorded a QB rating of 148.
Photo by Clarence Thomas
In a remarkable feat of determination and triumph over tragedy,
Woodberry Forest (Va.) quarterback
Jacob Rainey returned to the football field in a 28-19 loss to Benedictine (Richmond, Va.) in September.
Rainey,
a highly-touted quarterback prospect entering last fall, broke his knee
in a scrimmage on Sept. 3 of last year. A severed artery and other
complications forced doctors to amputate part of his right leg.
Jacob Rainey, Woodberry Forest
Photo by Clarence Thomas
Through
a rehabilitation process that included well wishes from the likes of
Tim Tebow and Nick Saban, Rainey was penciled in as a starter for the
team's season opener. Rainey had a message for those who did not expect
to see him take the field again.
"Big shout out to every person,
doctor or journalist that doubted me and said this day would never come.
I'm here," he said on Twitter.
Going into the game, Rainey had the support of his teammates.
"You don't hear, a year later, somebody losing their leg and coming back to be starting quarterback," teammate
Phillip Berry told the Daily Progress before the game. "He is definitely a hero in my eyes."
For the rest of the season, seeing limited duty he completed 12 of 15 passes
for 141 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. That gave him
quarterback rating of 148.
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