Staying in the Game
Nathaniel Calhoun is better known to University of Memphis fans as simply “Duke.” The 6’4”, 200 lbs. receiver has anchored the Tigers’ football offense since 2006, and his name dots the U of M record books. He holds the most number of 100-yard games, he ranks second in all-time single-season receptions and yards, and he is in the top-ten all time in receptions and total yards.
But the football accolades almost came to a grinding halt during the Tigers’ second game of the 2007-2008 season. “It was the last play before going into halftime,“ Calhoun recalls. “Coach called a Hail Mary. I was running down the field looking at the ball in the air. I saw a defensive player in front of me, and I just stopped, and my knee just buckled a bit.“
That buckling was actually Calhoun’s ACL tearing. Describing the movement in his knee as “kind of funny and loose,” Calhoun knew something was wrong, and his doctor confirmed that he indeed had a minor tear that could become much worse if he wasn’t careful. Instead of not playing for the rest of the season, Calhoun wore a protective leg brace that did hamper his movement, but at least allowed him to play. His philosophy was simple. “It’s not over. Don’t give up. Give it all you got.”
At the end of the season, after pulling down 890 yards receiving, Calhoun underwent surgery, where Campbell Clinic surgeon Barry B. Phillips, M.D., replaced his ACL with a piece of his patellar tendon. Afterwards, extensive physical therapy got him back up and running. After rehabbing the whole off-season, Duke is out of his brace and back to running full speed, hoping to help his Tigers return to yet another bowl bid, and perhaps even a conference championship.