These are some anxious times for Lake Central's David Yancey, and it has nothing to do with the season-ending injury that the Indians running back suffered Oct. 12 against Valparaiso.
Yancey returns to the doctor next week, when he is hoping to get his medical release for the hyperextended knee and calf strain that truncated a brilliant senior campaign.
"I'm fine now," Yancey said. "I just needed time to heal."
After watching video of the play, Yancey is amazed as anybody else who saw it that his leg, which was bent back underneath him, wasn't more seriously damaged.
"It looked disgusting on film," he said. "The doctor was surprised by it. I'm very blessed. I definitely had an angel with me that night."
Not that it was easy to be a spectator the rest of the season. It was tolerable when his Indians were doing well, but it was a helpless feeling in the second round of the sectional as a Yancey-less L.C. attack couldn't generate any offense after building a quick 14-0 lead on Crown Point, and lost.
"It was terrible," Yancey said. "I wanted to do something really badly. I wanted the ball in my hands, but I couldn't do it. We were losing, and there was nothing I could do about it, standing on the sidelines."
All the while, Yancey kept his focus looking forward to playing at Purdue. He attended all of the Boilermakers' home games, including Saturday's 56-35 Old Oaken Bucket win over Indiana.
"I spoke to coach (Danny) Hope and all the coaches, and they were all happy and getting ready for another bowl game," he said.
Then came word Sunday that Hope had been fired. Yancey had heard all the speculation as Purdue's season went south with a five-game losing streak, but was no less surprised.
"It was like, 'Bam!'" Yancey said. "I couldn't believe it. The coaching staff and coach Hope, we'd built a bond. I was really ready to get down there."
Now, all Yancey can do, like the rest of Boiler Nation, is wait. He's trying not to get caught up in the rampant scuttlebutt over possible candidates. Purdue Director of Player Personnel Kevin Maurice was scheduled to make a home visit to the Yanceys on Thursday.
"Everything's fine so far," Yancey said.
Yancey plans to take his official visit after the hiring and meet with the new coach/coaches. He is concerned that three recruits have already stepped back from their verbals.
"I'm 100 percent committed right now," he said. "A lot of people are asking me if I'm going to change with the firing. I'm definitely going to keep the door open to other colleges, but the first thing I say is the coach isn't the No. 1 reason I chose Purdue. I chose it to be close to home, (because) it's a great school, the people are great there, and I'm going to earn a great degree. Hopefully, (the process) will be relatively quick. We'll see who it is and make a decision from there."
Whomever it's going to be, they'd be wise to make sure Yancey stays in the fold.
This column represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at jim.peters@nwi.com.
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