March 25, 2005
By Matt Sohn The Miami Student
Oxford, OH (U-WIRE) -- It started out so routine.
Miami was faced with a third down early in the first quarter at Marshall, and as he'd done countless times before, quarterback Josh Betts hit wide out Martin Nance dragging across the field. Routine, however, quickly turned to disaster.
"I made the catch and just as I was ready to turn up field, I was tackled at kind of an awkward angle," Nance said. "My foot was stuck in the Astroturf there. I went to get up and I felt kind of a pain in my knee. Generally I am able to hop up and walk. This time was a little different."
The game pitted the two giants of the MAC East against each other, and Nance was just hitting his stride on the season. The mid-week game came on the heels of a 40-20 thumping of Ohio University, in which Nance caught seven balls for 108 yards and a touchdown. Call it the curse of Huntington, West Virginia, as Miami's top offensive weapon was lost for the season.
The dreaded was confirmed later, that Nance had suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury that typically takes up to a year to fully recover from.
"My first reaction was just disappointment that I wouldn't be able to finish out the season with my teammates," Nance said. "We have a good group of guys and that was tough. Really, my faith in God gave me comfort throughout the whole process as early as I started walking off the field."
While the presence of Mike Larkin, Miami's all-time receiving leader, and the emergence of sophomore Ryne Robinson helped to soften the blow, Nance's absence left a gaping hole in the RedHawk's offensive package.
Simply put, Nance was a man amongst boys in 2003. He hauled in 90 passes for 1,498 yards - both Miami single-season records - and was just one touchdown shy of tying the single-season mark.
The consummate threat, Nance measures in at 6-feet-5, 217 pounds, and was timed last winter at 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash - a mind-boggling speed for a man his size.
"It's hard in the MAC to get big, fast receivers," Betts said. "He was a bit under the radar in high school, and were lucky enough to get him."
After redshirting his freshman season and seeing limited action the following year, Nance burst onto the national scene in 2003 with his gaudy statistics.
In the second game of the 2003 season at Northwestern, Nance grabbed four balls for 126 yards and two scores, including a 61-yarder which he caught on a short strike near the right sideline, and then criss-crossed the length of the field leaving a pack of panting Wildcats in his wake.
Nance's second team, All-MAC season culminated in a 169-yard effort against Louisville in the GMAC Bowl, where he was named offensive MVP.
Going into the 2004 season, Nance was counted on to bring stability and maturity to the offense after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger decided to forgo his final year to try his luck in the NFL.
"(Nance) was such a big part of our offense, and with the year he had in 2003 we were expecting a lot from him last year," said head coach Shane Montgomery, who was promoted from offensive coordinator prior to Miami's bowl game this season. "(The injury) was a disappointment for him, and a disappointment for the team because we rely on him so much."
Nevertheless, the offense remained potent, yet inconsistent under Betts. While the RedHawks went onto win the MAC East and secured a berth in the Independence Bowl, Nance was relegated to watching from the sidelines.
"The toughest part was not being there to go to battle with my teammates," Nance said. "We had a great run there even after my injury, and falling short was hard because we worked so hard together and I wasn't able to help out my guys."
In the bowl game in Shreveport, La., Miami could have used Nance's physical presence. Iowa State was able to jam the RedHawk's smaller receivers at the line of scrimmage, and Miami's passing attack was largely ineffective against the Cyclones.
This spring, Miami will only see very limited action from Nance, as he rehabs his knee five days a week at McCullough-Hyde hospital in Oxford. He's currently lifting on it three times a week, and is finally to the point where he can run on it.
"He's rehabbed really hard, to the point where he's ahead of schedule," Montgomery said. "He's been as good as anybody I've seen throughout this whole process, keeping a positive attitude because it's hard to do. He's the type of kid we need out there playing because he makes the players around him better."
For now, Nance continues to rehabilitate and will be an active spectator as his teammates prepare to strap on the pads for spring practice.
"He's a leader on and off the field," Betts said. "He'll be 100 percent for practice in the fall. I've seen him at rehab and the ACL will not slow him down."
With six months to go until the 2005 season officially is kicked off at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Nance remains hungry to prove that he can return to form as one of the nation's elite wide receivers.
"I see myself being healthy enough to do the things I did in 2003... whether my numbers fall where they did is not my main goal," Nance said. "I want to be the playmaker that I was, and I believe I can be."
(C) 2004 The Miami Student via U-WIRE
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