Johnnies lineman knee-deep in courage

Nick Gunderson started at defensive tackle Saturday for St. John's, which once would have been considered a given. On Saturday it was considered an inspiring achievement.

Gunderson, a Division III All-America as a junior in 2007, blew out his left knee in the 2008 season opener, had major knee reconstruction and went through almost a year of rehabilitation. Then he blew out his right knee this season in the fourth game. He opted to postpone reconstructive surgery on that knee until after the season, and returned to the field wearing heavy braces on both knees. The start Saturday in the Johnnies' final regular-season game was his first in six weeks.

"It's been quite the adventure," Gunderson said this week as he prepared for the Johnnies' NCAA Division III playoff opener Saturday against visiting Coe. "Looking back, there's nothing I could have done any differently. It's just bad luck. But it's been real tough."

As a junior in 2007, Gunderson was a 6-4, 270-pounder considered by his coaches to be as dominating a lineman as they had ever seen in the MIAC. His dream of playing football after graduating from college seemed realistic.

Gunderson has no illusions of that happening now. His football career, he says, will end with the Johnnies' 2009 season, a reality St. John's coach John Gagliardi calls "a tragedy."

But the fact that Gunderson has returned at all is a cause for celebration. In Saturday's 41-14 victory over Carleton, Gunderson made an impact for St. John's (10-0) with his defensive line play, according to his coaches.

"I don't know what percentage he is of being full strength," Gagliardi said. "But whatever it is, it's plenty good."

Gunderson's first knee injury in 2008 came without any contact while he was chasing the East Texas Baptist quarterback out of the pocket. As Gunderson stopped to cut back, his knee gave -- "kind of like I hyperextended it," he said. It was a total ACL tear, ending his season.

Gunderson received a medical redshirt, making him eligible to return for a fifth season. The accounting major took part in graduation ceremonies last spring, and he is using this year to take credits that will help toward his CPA exam.

He started the first four games this season, then said he felt a tweak in his right knee late in a 38-10 victory over Gustavus Adolphus on Sept. 26 when a Gusties player fell on his knee. Gunderson did not think it was serious, and was taking part in pregame warm-ups the next Saturday against Bethel. It was then, he said, that he felt the knee shift beneath him.

He sat out the game, had an magnetic resonance imaging exam on Monday of that week and received the results on Tuesday: another torn ACL that would require surgery. Gunderson was given the option of postponing surgery, sitting out several weeks and trying to come back with braces on both knees.

"It was definitely a downer," he said. "But I decided I wasn't going to let the injury run my life."

So the day he received the news that another surgery would be required, he worked out.

"In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about being able to come back and help the team any way I could," he said.

The Gunderson of 2007 was a dominating player who moved from defensive end to tackle depending on the situation and matchup. He had 15 tackles for loss as a junior, including 9 1/2 sacks.

Gunderson now describes himself as the Pat Williams of the Johnnies line, which is to say he is basically a stationary nose tackle whose role is to stop the run.

"But [against Carleton] last week he was a lot more active in the middle than he's been," St. John's defensive coordinator Jerry Haugen said. "I think he's getting a feel for what he can do, and getting more comfortable."

Gunderson said his decision to keep playing is to realize the goal he had when he came to Collegeville out of Woodbury High School in the fall of 2005.

"The goal has always been a national championship," he said. "That's one of the reasons I came here, because I thought we'd have that opportunity. When I tore the [ACL] this year, it was devastating. But I always kept that goal, and now I have the chance to help us reach it."