COLUMBUS - It is not unusual for Ohio State to see a half-dozen members of its team nominated annually for college football's most prestigious awards. The Heisman, Lombardi, Butkus, Nagurski - there are usually Buckeyes on the ballot when those honors are decided.

Tyson Gentry won't play at all this season for Ohio State, but he could add to the prodigious collection of hardware that graces the foyer of the Woody Hayes Center and lines its hallways. The Ohio State senior is being considered for this year's FedEx Orange Bowl Courage Award, and his credentials have to make him one of the favorites to win the honor at season's end.

The Courage Award is presented annually to a player, coach or a support person in college football who has demonstrated exceptional bravery and an indomitable spirit. Gentry, who was off-balance when he hit the turf as he was tackled after catching a pass in a spring scrimmage in 2006, is partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. But Gentry is still very involved with the Ohio State team. He is a regular part of team meetings, practices, and is on the sideline at home games.

The Sandusky Perkins graduate suffered a fracture of the C-4 vertebra in his neck and has had several surgeries since the incident, including one to stabilize the injured area by fusing the C3 and C5 vertebrae. He has been undergoing a rigorous rehabilitation regimen, and has some movement in his arms, shoulders and head.

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"It was an ordinary play," Gentry said about the moment that changed his life. "It wasn't really a big hit, I just kind of fell awkwardly."

Gentry, whose dad also played for the Buckeyes, had made the team several years ago as a walk-on punter, but was helping out in the scrimmage by working at receiver. Following the injury, he has continued his studies and will be honored with the rest of the Ohio State seniors at the Nov. 22 Michigan game. Gentry expects to graduate in the spring with a degree in speech and hearing science.

"Tyson is one of us," fellow senior and Buckeyes' leading receiver Brian Robiskie told the Columbus Dispatch. "He always will be. His injury didn't change that."

Gentry continues to work toward his goal of walking again, and utilizes an innovative treatment at the Ohio State Medical Center called the NeuroRecovery Network. He is suspended in a harness over a treadmill while physical therapists move his legs and hips, with the hope that the nerves in Gentry's spinal cord and legs will be retrained through the repetitive movement.

"Our focus throughout has been what are the positive things we can get out of today, and we've done that with every day," Gentry's dad, Bob, said. "I can honestly say and feel good about it that we didn't have days when we took backwards steps. He's never viewed it that way, and each day is a new challenge for him, as well."

The 2002 Courage Award went to University of Toledo running back William Bratton, a three-year letterman for the Rockets who had battled the blood disorder sickle cell anemia throughout his career. Bratton had to deal with agonizing pain and weakness brought on by the condition, and once told coach Tom Amstutz from a hospital bed that he expected to be out by week's end so he could play in the Rockets' game that Saturday.

The Courage Award was created by ESPN The Magazine's senior writer Gene Wojciechowski in conjunction with The Football Writers Association of America, which consists of more than 1,000 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living.

Contact Matt Markey at

mmarkey@theblade.com

or 419-724-6510.