SEATTLE – The scar is easily visible through Trenton Tuiasosopo’s short hair. A zigzagging line picture the black pattern on Charlie Brown’s yellow shirt stretches from one ear, over the top of his head, to the other, dividing the front and back of his head.
Now, Tuiasosopo hopes the divide in his college football career can be equally dramatic. He’s ready for this season to be a clean break from the years past. From the knee injury that cost him one season, and from the bicycle accident that almost cost him a whole lot more than football.
In the time most college kids do little more than study, party and oversleep and not necessarily in that order Tuiasosopo has battled back from a season-ending knee injury in 2004 and come back from the bike accident that put him in critical condition with head and face injuries. Last Friday, Tuiasosopo showed the injuries were past him as he earned his first start at linebacker.
It was in March of 2005 that Tuiasosopo, a graduate of Mariner High School, was riding his bike on the way to practice when disaster struck. Tuiasosopo, who wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time he admits he should have been swerved to avoid a jogger and crashed. The next thing he remembers is waking up in a hospital.
For a time, football was the last thing on anyone’s mind.
“He was in critical condition,” said linebackers coach Chris Tormey. “The first concern was for his life. It was dicey there the first day or so, then after that it was whether or not he was going be able to play again. We didn’t know for several months if that was going to happen.
“It’s great to see him overcome the things that he’s had to deal with. It’s also great for our football team.”
After not playing much last year beyond a few special teams stints, Tuiasosopo impressed coaches with his play in fall camp. On Friday, he was in the starting lineup at middle linebacker. He and sophomore Donald Butler are listed as either-or on this week’s depth chart, but whether he starts or not, Tuiasosopo figures to see plenty of playing time.
On Syracuse’s first play from scrimmage, Tuiasosopo assisted on a tackle on a short pass play.
“I had the first tackle, I’m proud to say that,” he said excitedly when asked about the play. “To be out for such a long time, to be able to make the first play of my first game, it was really something. Those are the little things I don’t want to take for granted.”
He said walking onto the field at the Carrier Dome for that first series was an emotional moment.
“It was a really big roller coaster ride up and down, and it’s been a real blessing to come back and be able to participate on the field after my situation and my head injury,” said Tuiasosopo, whose four tackles against Syracuse tripled his career total from two to six.
There was a time in 2005 that football was not a big concern. After the accident, Tuiasosopo was on life support for a night and in critical condition. He had reconstructive surgery to rebuild his left eye socket, and has metal plates in his face and forehead.
“I was most of all trying to get back to a regular life style,” he said. “At the time I thought I was superman and that I’d just get back on the field, but it really hit me that I didn’t know if I’d be able to come back. I feel really blessed and just lucky to be here alive and participating on the team again. It’s a real big blessing for me to be here.”
He came back for the 2006 season, but wasn’t 100 percent, he said, mentally or physically. At the start of fall camp, however, he and his coaches started noticing a changed player.
“Last year, I was trying to come back and say, good, I’m done with my injuries,” he said. “But then I had some other minor injuries that held me back and I started to second guess if I’d ever be able get back to 100 percent or not. But after fall camp I said, ‘God gave me a reason for being here, let’s find out that reason.’ So here I am today.”
Tuiasosopo’s teammates are equally happy to have him back.
“I got to thinking, ‘Man, I can’t play with Trenton anymore,’” said Donald Butler of his thoughts two years ago. “But as time went on, he wasn’t going to be told no. It was definitely a miracle. It could have gone a lot of ways.”
Starting his third season of football, Tuiasosopo is ready to make an impact worthy of the name his cousin Marques made famous at Washington. He’s ready to start a new chapter in his Huskies career. One that is distinctly divided like the front and back of his head between the injuries of his past, and the bright future he hopes started last week at the Carrier Dome.
“It took me a while just to get back to the speed of things on the field,” Tuiasosopo said. “But now I’m ready to do my part and make a difference for this team.”
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