ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE Georgia Tech back will be back
Tony Hollings is now able to walk without crutches. His rehab is going well.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia Tech tailback Tony Hollings left the field for the last time this season riding in a medical cart, his hands over his eyes so he wouldn't see the home crowd cheering for him.
He also was the leading rusher in Division I-A.
That was about two months ago, after Hollings had rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns to help the Yellow Jackets beat BYU. But on the last of his 36 carries in the fourth game of the season, his right knee gave way during a cut, and he tumbled to the turf at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The pain was so excruciating that Hollings' screams could be heard from the sidelines.
"You don't like to see somebody go through that," Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said. "That's one of the hard parts of the game."
The result was a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn lateral meniscus in the knee. Hollings had surgery a couple of weeks later, and now is able to walk without crutches. His rehab is going well, and he plans on being back next year.
But he's left to wonder what would have become of this season.
"Yeah, I think about it some," he said. "I was off to a really good start. I think I could've kept it going, but I'll never know now."
It was the first time Hollings had been seriously injured, so didn't have any idea how bad it was. He said he kept his face covered while leaving the field so he wouldn't see the standing ovation from the sellout crowd.
"That would have made me break down even more than I already was," he said. "I was so disappointed."
Through those four games, Hollings had 633 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 189 yards against the Cougars was a career high and came a week after he ran for 147 against Clemson.
Not bad for a converted safety who hadn't carried the ball a single time before this season.
Makes it look easy
"The guy's a great athlete, but no matter how good or how fast somebody is, you never expect anybody to come in and make it look real easy like he did," said Gordon Clinkscale, one of three players used to replace Hollings. "Especially coming from defense, for him to do that, it was real surprising."
After showing flashes of his talent last spring, Hollings started slowly in preseason practice. Injuries and inconsistent play from others helped him stay No. 1 on the depth chart, and he quickly proved he belonged there.
Hollings ran for 153 yards and two TDs in the season opener against Vanderbilt, but it was a single play two weeks later against Clemson that opened the eyes of the Georgia Tech coaching staff.
Starting right on a sweep, Hollings reversed his field and outran the defense for a 72-yard score. The Yellow Jackets went on to lose that game, but it was obvious they had found their tailback.
"That was the one play where you kind of went, 'OK, he's a special player,' " running backs coach Patrick Nix said.
After sulking for about a week after the injury, Hollings regained the bounce in his step. He still gets noticed around campus, with fellow students asking how the knee's feeling and offering kind thoughts.
Cheerleader
And he's back on the sideline for games, wearing his No. 24 jersey and often waving a towel to excite the crowd.
"I just want everybody to know that I'm all right," Hollings said.
That much was clear to Clinkscale three weeks ago, after he scored the winning touchdown in a road upset of previously unbeaten North Carolina State. During his 14-yard run, Clinkscale started right but cut back, meandering his way back across the field to reach the left corner of the end zone.
As he and the rest of the team boarded a plane to return to Atlanta, he got a call from Hollings, who wanted to know about that touchdown.
"I was messing with him, telling him I had stolen his move during that run," Clinkscale said.