Football's Antwine Nominated for FedEx Orange Bowl/FWAA Courage Award
Thursday, November 20, 2008 | Football
University of Florida redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Antwine (Garland, Texas) is the final nominee for the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl/Football Writers Association of America Courage Award. Antwine has overcome kidney failure and a significant muscular breakdown in his lower back to return to football in 2008.
The FedEx Orange Bowl/FWAA Courage Award honors a student-athlete who best displays courage on or off the field, including overcoming an injury or physical handicap, preventing a disaster or living through hardship. The winner will be announced at the end of the season.
In October 2007, Antwine suffered symptoms of dehydration along with pain in his lower back. He was taken to the hospital, and acute kidney failure was discovered. Further examination revealed the kidney troubles resulted from a rare muscle failure called lumbar spine myonecrosis, a loss of blood pressure that kills muscular cell fibers.
Essentially a muscle in his lower back had died. Normal kidney function returned in several days, but the pain in his back got worse. Antwine spent several weeks in a wheelchair, then had to re-learn how to walk. The process included therapy in a swimming pool, followed by learning to balance and then walking with a cane.
Many suspected he would not play football again, but he gradually progressed. Although he wasn't cleared for full contact until the second week of September, Antwine has contributed this season as a backup nose tackle, and has pushed for more playing time.
For the third-straight year, the Football Writers Association of America and the FedEx Orange Bowl has announced a weekly nominee during the season. A blue-ribbon panel will determine the winner from all of the nominees. The winner of the FedEx Orange Bowl/FWAA Courage Award will be announced in December and be presented with the trophy.
The Courage Award was created by ESPN The Magazine's senior writer Gene Wojciechowski, also a FWAA member. A select group of writers from the FWAA vote on the winner each year.
Previous winners of the Courage Award are Navy's Zerbin Singleton (2007), Clemson's Ray Ray McElrathbey (2006), the Tulane football team (2005), Memphis' Haracio Colen (2004), San Jose State's Neil Parry (2003) and Toledo's William Bratton (2002).
For more information in the FedEx Orange Bowl/FWAA Courage Award, contact George Schroeder at 541-953-4080 or gschroeder@aol.com or visit the FWAA website at footballwriters.com.
2008 FedEx Orange Bowl Courage Award nominees
Sept. 10: Artrell Woods, Oklahoma State
Sept. 17: Terence Campbell, East Carolina
Sept. 24: Johnell Neal, Central Florida
Oct. 1: Wilson Holloway, Tulsa
Oct. 8: Inquoris "Inky" Johnson, Tennessee
Oct. 15: Richard Bowman, North Dakota State
Oct. 22: Tyson Gentry, Ohio State
Oct. 29: Chris Ogbonnaya, Texas
Nov. 12: Robert Quinn, North Carolina
Nov. 19: Brandon Antwine, Florida
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