Posted by bambi2godzilla on 1/10/2008, 10:39 pm
63.249.102.18
Damage Plan
Amanda Branam
Signal Staff Writer
January 10, 2008
In a time where the area's top junior college football players are mulling over their college choices, College of the Canyons quarterback Andrew Miramontes has seen almost all of his Division I football possibilities go up in smoke.
He remembers the play as if it happened three seconds ago, instead of three months ago.
On Oct. 13 at Glendale College, the Cougars' top receiver, Hayo Carpenter, was supposed to run a skinny post. There were two COC receivers running hitches on the other side, but the Vaqueros defense eliminated them as options.
Miramontes decided to make a run for it.
It was a choice he had to make, and a choice the former linebacker would make a thousand times.
He was hit by two defenders, one from behind and one from the front.
"My shoulder got pushed down and then pushed right back up," Miramontes said.
It changed everything.
Miramontes suffered a torn labrum, as well as cartilage damage in his right shoulder. For a quarterback who had never missed a football game from injury, dating back to the time he was 6-years-old through that Oct. 13 start at Glendale, Miramontes was hit with the reality of having to miss the rest of the year with an injury that would require season-ending surgery.
He had played too many games to get a medical redshirt, and Miramontes already sat out his first year out of Birmingham high school as a grayshirt.
For a signal caller who was being recruited by such schools as Boston College, Arizona, Kansas, Kansas State, and San Jose State, it was a hit that at least to this point, made those dreams of playing college football in a major conference evaporate.
"I have not had that happen where it's been that high profile of a guy, no," said COC interim head coach Garett Tujague. "Every yard mattered to him, and I don't know how you could fault him for that. But in another breath, it's like, get out of bounds."
At first, the two-year starter for COC tried to come back into the game, and handed the ball off twice.
"I think reaching made my shoulder go numb," Miramontes said. "I told Hayo, 'I can't even lift my shoulder.' He started screaming for coach."
Initially, the coaches and trainers thought Miramontes would be out for a week with a pinched nerve. They said he was only going to miss the next start as a precautionary move. He was throwing the ball a little in practice, but not more than about 10 to 15 yards.
They decided Miramontes needed an MRI. The quarterback got the MRI done at the office where his father worked, so it was his dad who called to tell him the news.
"I broke down. I was getting ready for class, and he asked me if I was sitting down," Miramontes said. "He didn't need to tell me anything else. I knew."
The news continued to get worse.
Going into the surgery on Nov. 6, Miramontes thought he would be out for two to six months, depending on rehab. That changed to a year-long rehab process for the 20-year-old. The doctors expected a 90-minute procedure. Miramontes was in surgery for three hours.
"It was tough," Tujague said. "It was a struggle for me for a couple reasons. One, I've seen Andrew turn into a man. He learned some lessons the hard way. His work ethic was unreal. He was a lock for his teammates. He never missed, he always worked hard.
"He went through some serious, serious scrutiny here, more so than any quarterback in the history of our program, and he still kept coming back for more," Tujague added. "To have that happen is just heartbreaking."
As far as recruiting went, Miramontes had to tell coaches he was out for the year. At first, he had told them it was a temporary injury.
"All the coaches knew because I hadn't played for two weeks," Miramontes said. "I told two or three coaches and they all talk to each other. It slowly stopped the recruiting process. Less phone calls, less letters."
It was an unfortunate turn of events for a quarterback who was leading the Western State Conference in average yards per game when he was injured in the sixth contest of the year.
Miramontes was averaging 265 yards a game in the air when he was hurt, and he had thrown 14 touchdowns against eight interceptions. With most of the other signal callers playing in at least four more games to close out the season, Miramontes still led the conference in yards per game and finished fifth in passing touchdowns.
The Cougars sophomore still has some options at the college level, just not where he expected. He is being recruited by some Division II and Division III schools but Miramontes is holding out a little longer. There may also be some smaller Division I schools interested.
"Just because I'm injured doesn't mean I'm not worthy enough to play at a bigger school," Miramontes said.
Rehab started this week for the COC quarterback, and the doctors told him his shoulder looks like it's about a month ahead of schedule. He can almost do a full rotation.
It's the start of a painfully long process in a painful lesson for Miramontes.
"Don't take anything for granted because it can be taken from you," he said. "Play every play like it's your last.
"If you have the possibility of running out of bounds or sliding, do that," he added. "And don't hit linebackers, it's bad to hit
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