For a person who was at risk of losing his life two years ago, the fact that Neiron Ball ever made it back to the football field is impressive. It is even more amazing that he has developed into one of Florida’s top defensive players and started at weak-side linebacker in last week’s season opener.
“I can’t even put into words how happy and excited I am for him,” said receiver Trey Burton, who arrived with Ball in UF’s 2010 signing class. “He’s one of the best guys we have on our team. Just extremely happy for him. Nothing could have been better than for him to get the start on Saturday.”
It seems to be just the beginning for Ball, who again is listed as the starter heading into No. 12 Florida’s game at Miami on Saturday at Sun Life Stadium (noon, ESPN). As a redshirt junior, he still has time to establish himself as a two-year starter and take a shot at the NFL.
In last week’s victory over Toledo, Ball made his first appearance after switching from strong-side to weak-side and had three tackles and a pass break-up. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, he has the strength to play inside as a run stopper, but is fast enough to fall back into coverage. Gators coach Will Muschamp thought Ball had little trouble adjusting and played “extremely well” in his new spot.
“We had talked about how well he had played throughout camp, but you want to see him go do it in a game, and he did that,” defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin said. “He tackled really well in the open field. He was on point with his coverages. He read things well. He had a great game. We need to keep building on it.”
Ball’s path to the starting job is one of the most improbable comeback stories in college football in the past few years.
He was doing a relatively light off-season workout Feb. 14, 2011 when he felt an unusual pain in his neck and head. It intensified to the point that he was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered bleeding in his brain.
Staff at UF Health Shands Hospital diagnosed him with a congenital condition called an arteriovenous malformation, which caused one of the blood vessels in his brain to rupture.
He believed he was going to die.
“Forget football; I was thinking about living,” he told The Post last year. “But when I found out I was OK, I knew I was going to be back on the field.”
After surgery, Ball began his hard road back to football.
The Gators ruled him out for the 2011 season and were unsure whether they would ever get him back. That was a harsh blow for someone who appeared in every game as a true freshman the year before. Ball, however, was confident.
He was cleared to play last year as a redshirt sophomore and was a solid backup who filled in as a starter in the season opener and against LSU. He finished the year with 10 tackles, two fumble recoveries, an interception and a new gratitude for football.
“There’s definitely a great level of appreciation because it’s something that you would never expect to happen to you,” he said recently. “It makes you think about going hard every play because you never know when it’s going to be your last.”
Even practices had a different feel.
“It’s like a new birth for him,” said Ball’s sister, Natalie Myricks. “It’s changed his whole attitude about life. He gets excited about practice now. Just being out there is a blessing.”
This year, Ball seems ready to take another step forward. He has not fully secured the strong-side linebacker job and will have to compete with senior Darrin Kitchens and others to keep it, but is off to a good start.
Myricks said the family no longer worries about Ball’s health and believes the medical scare is completely behind them. That alone is cause for celebration, but Ball’s progress on the field is encouraging as well.
“Our whole team is really happy to see where Neiron is now,” Durkin said. “He is a great kid and he’s going to grow into being a great player.”
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