Previously in this season's editions of "Tales of Toughness," we've brought you Hall of Fame of Pain nominees Julio Jones, who caught eight passes with a broken hand in a losing effort at South Carolina, and Virginia Tech offensive lineman Greg Nosal, who returned to the field after severing the tip of his finger in the Hokies' win over Central Michigan. Today's nominee: Ohio State wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, who played against Illinois on Oct. 3 with a dislocated finger that had been knocked so badly out of place three days before that it broke the skin in his hand:On Wednesday of that week, Sanzenbacher caught a zinger of a pass from quarterback Terrelle Pryor in practice. The fastball hit Sanzenbacher's hand awkwardly, popping a finger out of joint.
This wasn't a run-of-the-mill dislocation, though. It was an open dislocation, meaning the bone was shoved through the skin, at the middle knuckle of his finger. Sanzenbacher went down, bleeding.
"There was a big gasp as the guys saw the bone sticking through," Ohio State trainer Doug Calland said.
Calland and the team's medical staff took Sanzenbacher into the locker room and pushed the bone back in place. X-rays revealed no fractures, so the next step was to stitch up the wound.
Sanzenbacher didn't catch passes over the next two practices, but brought down three for 35 yards and a touchdown in a 24-13 Buckeye win on Saturday, impressing even the offensive linemen. (Guard Justin Boren told the Columbus Dispatch, "I couldn't believe he played.") He finished the year with a team-high 52 catches for 889 yards and was voted team MVP by teammates, as well as "Most Inspirational."
No kidding: Along with Nosal, that is finger apathy nearly on par with the likes of Chuck Bednarik and Ronnie Lott. Give it a decade or two and an enduring scar or "pop," and maybe Sanzenbacher can call it even.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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