NEW BRUNSWICK -- Even now -- six years after he suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury playing college football -- Eric LeGrand remembers surviving his freshman year at Rutgers in 2008 as one of the biggest challenges he has faced.
LeGrand struggled to keep up in the classroom and to find a steady home on the gridiron, trying three different positions and crossing the line of scrimmage twice.
"My freshman year was one of the hardest years I've ever had," LeGrand said. "I was trying to find my place."
The inspirational LeGrand ventured off his message promoting spinal cord injury research and awareness Thursday when he told a compelling personal story about his life before a wheelchair in conjunction with Rutgers University's extensive 250th anniversary celebration.