There is probably an explanation behind the NCAA's decision on Friday that Kim Royston gets a do-over on his ruined senior season, but the Gophers captain didn't catch it.
"Once I heard the 'yes,' I didn't need to hear much more," an ecstatic Royston said after his appeal, considered a longshot under NCAA rules, was granted. "It's amazing when your prayers are answered."
His college career, and his hopes for an NFL tryout, didn't seem to have a prayer when he shattered his left leg during spring practices last April, requiring a couple of surgeries to repair. Since he already had sat out a season after transferring from Wisconsin in 2008, it seemed unlikely that the Cretin-Derham Hall star would be given a sixth season.
That's why he kept vowing to return by the 2010 season, though such a fast recovery was doubted by his doctors.
"Looking back, it was a little far-fetched that I could be back by Game 1," Royston said. "But I really believed I could get back out there."
That's why he appealed after missing the entire season, a decision made especially easy once he met Jerry Kill. The new Gophers coach and his staff encouraged Royston to appeal, having convinced him "that they're going to get this program turned around, no doubt," he said, and "they want me to be part of it. I do, too."
He kept checking with university officials, and Friday afternoon was resigned to "another weekend of not knowing. I've been on pins and needles for six weeks." Finally, the call came at 4 p.m., and football became his focus again.
His new to-do list: Register for graduate classes on Monday (he's already earned his communications degree) and prepare for spring practice, with his leg 100 percent healed.
