Derek Day felt the snap. He knew something --- ligaments, tendons, bones -- broke inside of him as if it were made of plastic.
The senior at Central Dauphin High School thought his career might be over. The tailback tried to carry a pile of blue-helmeted defenders an extra yard or two before someone hammered his ankle. He couldn't return to the huddle, couldn't even stand, with a broken tibia and fibula.
"Honestly, I see that as a blessing in disguise," Day said Wednesday, looking back on that injury in Nov. 2007. "I don't know if I'd be at Penn State if that didn't happen."
The senior at Central Dauphin High School thought his career might be over. The tailback tried to carry a pile of blue-helmeted defenders an extra yard or two before someone hammered his ankle. He couldn't return to the huddle, couldn't even stand, with a broken tibia and fibula.
"Honestly, I see that as a blessing in disguise," Day said Wednesday, looking back on that injury in Nov. 2007. "I don't know if I'd be at Penn State if that didn't happen."
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Josh Moyer
Josh Moyer joined ESPN.com in 2012 after covering Penn State football for recruiting website Nittany Network and City Hall for The Citizens' Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Moyer graduated from Penn State and earned his graduate degree at Columbia. Email him at espnjoshmoyer@gmail.com.