Ex-UF tight end a small-town boy and big-time man

Cornelius IngramIt’s the time of year when all sports writers are searching for good Christmas stories about generous people in sports, but those kind of tales often are hard to come by.

At least that’s what I was thinking the other day when I ran across Cornelius Ingram.

If any athlete ever had a right to be mad at God, it would be Ingram. Such promise — size, strength, agility and speed — in one body. Then one day his knee snapped and what might have been a brilliant NFL career plunged into a huge broken dream.

As he spoke before a group of high school players and coaches being honored in Ocala, Fla., drawing their rapt attention, Ingram unfolded the tale of his athletic prowess, which began…