Recordpub.com - Injured Jarvis still part of Flashes' turnaround

By David Carducci

Record-Courier staff writer

Nobody has been more thrilled to watch Kent State turn its 2009 football season around than Eugene Jarvis.

The Golden Flashes’ injured star has been the team’s biggest cheerleader since suffering a season-ending kidney laceration Sept. 12 in a Week 2 loss at Boston College.

At the same time, shouting out words of encouragement from the sidelines as his teammates battled back into contention in the Mid-American Conference East Division race could only be so satisfying. The senior running back would do anything to be able to trade in the Kent State blue-and-gold sweatsuit he now wears on game day for a helmet and pair of shoulder pads.

“Not being able to be out there on the field with my team is killing me,” said Jarvis. “It’s hard, but I also know I have to help my teammates be the best They can be. By doing that, I’m like an extra coach on the coaching staff. I try to help them whenever I see adjustments or things they can do differently. I try to motivate them as much as possible. And so far, so good.”

With so many freshmen and sophomores pressed into service this season, Kent State has benefited more than usual from the veteran’s experience and perspective.

“It’s been a great emotional lift just to have him back and around this team,” said KSU head coach Doug Martin. “He is also one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around, so that has really helped, too. When you call a play, Eugene wants to understand why you called that play, not just how to run it. That’s what makes him a special player ... And that’s the (perspective) he can share with our younger guys.”

Just one week after suffering the injury, Jarvis demonstrated his understanding of the Kent State playbook when he left Robinson Memorial Hospital without the permission of his doctors and watched the Flashes play from the loge of KSU athletic director Laing Kennedy.

“Mr. Kennedy said he was amazed because Eugene could tell what plays I was going to call before we ran them,” Martin said. “That’s Eugene. He understands our offense, and probably me and my tendencies, better than probably anyone else. He told Mr. Kennedy, ‘Watch this, they are going to go for the deep one here,’ and we did.”

That understanding of the game could make Jarvis an outstanding football coach. But before that day arrives, he is convinced he still has some unfinished business to accomplish.

Jarvis hopes to play again next season, despite discovering on the day of his injury that he is one of the .13-percent of the population born without a kidney.

“It the NCAA grants me a sixth year, I will definitely be back,” said Jarvis. “I can’t go out with this season ending in injury. I don’t want to go out like that.”

Playing football with only one kidney is not as rare as it was just a decade ago. Most of those players wear a flak jacket to protect the kidney.

Kent State has promised to do everything in its power to get Jarvis’ a sixth year of eligibility, allowing him to continue his chase for the Flashes all-time rushing record.

Jarvis began 2009 ranked second in the entire nation for career rushing yards at 3,286 — a total that also placed him fourth in Kent State’s record book. He would need only 563 yards to pass Astron Whatley as the Flashes’ career leader.

A rushing record would be nice, but for now Jarvis is concentrating only on urging his teammates to keep up this year’s fight. After three straight wins, Kent State (5-4, 4-1) needs to beat arch-rival Akron on Saturday to set up a battle for first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division with Temple on Nov. 21 in Philadelphia.

“Eugene is a big inspiration to us,” said senior defensive lineman Aaron Hull. “We know what he is going through and how he feels. He is always telling us, ‘Hey, I have one year left. You all go out and do your own thing right now.’

“Having him around helps this team. He gives us something to fight for. We want to win to help him feel better ... and we all know he would want to do the same thing for us.”

According to Jarvis, “Just keeping positive people in my ear is what really helps me.”

Jarvis still remembers every minute of Sept. 12, from the hit that sliced his kidney, to the fear that struck when he realized how serious the injury really was.

“Sometimes it was tough staying positive through all of that,” said Jarvis. “I remember everything like it was yesterday. After the hit, I knew something was up when I tried to take two deep breaths. At the same time, I thought it might be a bruise or something. So I kept playing. Halftime is when I knew it was something serious.”

“Of course, I was (depressed) from time to time after that. You are going to be down when something like this hits you. I’ve never been through anything like it in my whole life. It is all new to me. I’m just lucky to have so many positive people around me to help me turn this negative into a positive.”

Fortunately, Jarvis’ injury did not require surgery. With rest, he is expected to make a full recovery.

“It’s just great seeing Eugene up and around again,” said Martin. “He is still getting better day by day, and because of that he hasn’t been able to be at many practices. But he is around more and more, and it has really helped our football team.”

Martin said he noticed Jarvis in the locker room at Dix Stadium last week during the celebration following a win over Western Michigan, “and all of a sudden I realized how hard it must be for him, seeing this team winning and not being able to be out there on the field with his teammates.”

“But he’s still in that locker room, smiling and encouraging all of us,” Martin continued. “He’s just handled all of this so well ... How can you not root for someone like that?”

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David Carducci can be reached at dcarducci@recordpub.com