The play started like any other, a regular handoff to the running back that senior lineman Bobby Evans was to block for. But the play ended anything but regular, his whole year was about to change with an injury that will leave him off the football field for half a year.

“My knee buckled and I felt a little pop, but I didn’t think it was that serious,” Bobby said.

But that little pop had just changed his whole senior year. Bobby had torn his ACL and required surgery on Oct. 7. Feeling a “quick pain” that quickly went away, Bobby hopped up and walked off the field giving an enthusiastic fist bump to the crowd as he left.

Sports like football are supposed to be filled with excitement and passion while out on the field, but even passion has very real physical limits. With a risk of injury on every play, football receives more criticism each year about the risk young athletes are taking to play the game. Even President Obama has stated if he had a son he wouldn’t of allowed him to play football.

But that didn’t stop Bobby, at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds; he already has a natural advantage over most athletes with the great size he possesses. Bobby has received offers to play college football from Oklahoma, Ole Miss, SMU, Oregon State, while also drawing interest in other schools like Texas and Baylor. Eventually choosing to take his talents to Oklahoma, Bobby was well on his way to play and even go to their spring practices before the injury.

It all started for the senior lineman way back in second-grade, when his dad let him and his brother start playing the sport.

“I chose football because it was where the scholarships were and it’s what I’m best at,” Bobby said. “While my main dream is to go pro, I would also like to major in Accounting or Physical Therapy if football doesn’t work out.”

As it turns out football might be the best choice. And Bobby even said the injury has actually sparked the engine inside him again.

“The injury was a setback I’m not going to lie, but it brought back the hunger I’ve always had with the game and I can’t wait to get back on the field to compete for that starting position,” Bobby said.

The injury Bobby suffered was a complete tear in his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). The injury usually derails a player for five to seven months before they can get back onto the field at one hundred percent. To repair an ACL it has to be surgically repaired by combining the muscles that tore.

“The support I’ve gotten has surprised me,” Bobby said. “Everyone has been telling me to keep my head up and that I’m in their prayers because I really was down about it at first.”

Bobby plans on getting back onto the field next year to work with Oklahoma but still plans to enjoy his senior year with his teammates.

“I just thank God that I am still able to play college football, but I am bummed about not being able to play as a senior, but being able to come back is a blessing,” Bobby said. “Even OU said they would help me with rehab, and the Allen coaches keep telling me I’m still a leader of the team even if I can’t play.”

While Bobby works in the next six months to build up his leg muscle and return to his lineman ways, everyone at Allen will have his back. The team still knows what their ultimate goal is and no one, not even Bobby is thinking anything otherwise.

“The ultimate goal is to win state,” Bobby said.