Sunday, July 19, 1998

Cowboys' Daryl Johnston confident as he rebounds from injury

By Dave Ivey / Knight Ridder Newspapers

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- At the conclusion of his first practice in pads since mid-October, all Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston had to do to answer the question on everyone's mind was remove his No. 48 jersey.

Like Clark Kent ripping out of the phone booth, Johnston revealed a sweat-soaked T-shirt emblazoned with the words: "My neck feels great."

Johnston, returning from a career-threatening neck injury, experienced his first real contact since surgery to correct the problem during Friday afternoon's practice at the training-camp facility at Midwestern State University.

During a coverage drill that pitted the linebackers against the tight ends and fullbacks, he swapped some helmet paint with linebacker Robert Thomas. In an 11-on-11 team drill, he lowered his head and blocked safety Darren Woodson and later gave a hard hit to linebacker Nate Hemsley.

"I feel fine," Johnston said after practice. "Read the shirt."

Despite clearing what he has been calling his final hurdle, he understands that his comeback is not quite complete.

"It's not going to be one hit," he said. "I can't go out there and hit one person on a block and say everything's fine. It is going to be a test over time, over the course of training camp and throughout the season."

His injury developed over the course of a 10-year pro career, said his surgeon, Dr. Drew Dossett. It was not the result of a freak collision, as with NFL players Dennis Byrd and Reggie Brown. Johnston originally thought it was a shoulder injury that was sapping his strength.

After experiencing nagging pains after a loss at Washington on Oct. 13, he underwent extensive testing, which revealed two herniated vertebrae in his lower neck. The following Sunday against Jacksonville, his iron man streak of 149 consecutive games played came to an end.

Dossett performed an operation on Johnston on Halloween that fused the two disks. For the next six weeks, Johnston wore a neck brace.

"The whole thing sounds much worse than it is. When you talk about spinal surgery, it's a red flag," Johnston said. "People get very nervous."

Count his parents and wife, Diane, among the worriers.

"We wanted him to retire," said his mother, Ann Johnston, on Friday from the family's home in Youngstown, N.Y.

Although Johnston appreciates the concern from those who questioned why he would try to play football again, the former high school valedictorian points out that he didn't take the decision lightly. He did his research.

"I had all the information. I was the one that was talking to the doctors and I wouldn't have made a decision that was selfish or foolish to put myself in a position where I could be hurt," he said. "My wife and I plan to start a family. I have a lot of things to look forward to."

Returning in time for training camp involved an eight-month rehabilitation that included lifting weights to build upper body strength and following a strict, nutritional diet.

Johnston learned from physicians that he would not be the first athlete to return from a similar injury. Other NFL players to return from fusion surgery include offensive lineman Kurt Gouveia and linebacker Johnny Holland. Cowboys assistant coaches Mike Zimmer and Les Miles have also had the operation.

Unlike the others, however, the nature of Johnston's position is basically to sacrifice his body blocking linebackers and defensive linemen as much as 60 times per game to open holes for the running game.

Dossd-3/4t promised his patient that the risk of paralysis was minimal. He is more concerned about Johnston herniating another disk. The stress will now be greater on the vertebrae above and below the fusion site.

"You can't guarantee anyone who plays the game of football that he is not going to get hurt," Johnston said. "But if I have another disk problem, I'm done. My doctor says that would be it for football."

Defensive end Kavika Pittman said the defenders won't be taking it easy on Johnston.

"I'll hit him. I know he's going to hit me. I'm pretty sure that he wants to test his neck," Pittman said. "I'm not going to try to hurt him, but I'm going to do what I have to do."

Quarterback Troy Aikman, who like Johnston was drafted in 1989, said he is grateful the injury didn't force his friend's premature retirement.

"Obviously, none of us want him to risk his health," Aikman said, "but we needed a great leader like DJ on the team and believe me, we're a lot better off with him around."

Johnston, 32, who has four years remaining on a $7.5 million contract, has no doubts about his immediate football future.

"Until somebody beats me out when I am healthy, I consider myself the starting fullback here," he said. "If I did not believe I could contribute and help this team win football games, then I would not be out here."

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(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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