Kansas University sophomore Derek Fine finally feels fine, and he can’t wait to get back on the football field this fall.
“It’s been so long since I have played that I’m just eager and excited to get back out there,” said Fine, who has been a part of the KU program since 2002, but because of a bizarre health situation has yet to play a down.
It has been a little more than two years since the Sallisaw, Okla., native played in live competition.
“I can hardly remember what it’s like,” said Fine, who played in an Oklahoma all-star game during the summer after his standout senior year at Sallisaw High, where he set school records for receiving yards in a season (798) and career (1,792).
After Fine graduated in May of 2002, he learned he needed an appendectomy in June. He had the surgery and played in the all-star game, but reported to KU’s newcomers camp 20 pounds under his 215-pound prep playing weight.
Fine felt ill during the final few sessions of two-a-day practices and reported to the team doctor with a 103-degree fever. He then went to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where tests revealed an abscess behind his liver, a complication of the appendectomy.
A second surgery was required Aug. 21, the last day of two-a-days. Fine spent six days at LMH and missed the first two days of school and practice.
Following the advice of physicians and coaches, Fine went home to recover.
“I was so far behind on my weight and everything that I knew it was going to take a long time for me to get in the kind of condition where I could play,” Fine said. “It was pretty rough, but I tried to take each day and not get worked up about everything because I knew it was going to take awhile.”
Fine missed the fall semester, then returned to campus in the spring of 2003. He spent the ’03 season as a red shirt and was named scout team offensive player of the year.
Now 240 pounds, the 6-foot-3 Fine believes he is ready to perform at the collegiate level.
“It’s been so long, and I’ve wanted to play so bad because it seems like ever since I’ve been here everything has been about football,” he said.
Fine is battling 6-3, 250-pound senior Lyonel Anderson — who had 10 receptions for 157 yards last season — for a starting job.
Offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro is convinced Fine will make a seamless transition into the Jayhawks’ offensive schemes.
“I think the biggest thing we saw was when he came back healthy — it took awhile, of course — but once he got in the weight room and got into a good nutrition program, etc., etc., we knew he had a feisty, little tough edge to him,” Quartaro said. “He really likes competing, and he’s going to be a really good player here.”
That’s all dandy to Fine, but he’s more excited to get the chance to play the game he has been away from for two years.
“That time away has definitely given me a lot more appreciation for the game,” Fine said. “College, too, and everything period.”
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