MOBILE, Ala. – "I'm not going to miss that game."
That is the impact a rivalry game can have on the mindset of any competitor. But for University of South Alabama senior safety Nigel Lawrence, it's not that simple.
Because less than a month ago, he was being helped off the field by the sports medicine staff just before halftime of the Jaguars' game at Appalachian State, unable to put any weight on his right knee.
"I was scared, I never felt like that before," he recalled. "I really believed I blew my knee out, I couldn't do anything.