Kyle Pugh has been playing football for NIU Huskies for eight years, bouncing back from injuries
DE KALB, Ill. (CBS) -- The COVID season allowed many student athletes to get an extra year of eligibility.
That was the case for one Northern Illinois University and former Bloom High School football standout. But as CBS 2's Matt Zahn reported Tuesday, that was just one piece of the story about an unprecedented and extended time at NIU for Kyle Pugh.
"It's a unique experience," Pugh said. "I really don't know how to describe it."
Pugh is a senior linebacker for Northern Illinois and a two-time all-conference performer - but the one extra year of eligibility is not what makes his experience unique.
Pugh is in his eighth season with the Huskies. Yes, that's right – eight years of playing college football. How he got to this point, as Pugh puts it, was through a long list of unfortunate events.
"I came here in 2015; redshirted my freshman year, which is pretty normal. 2017, I made my first start - got off to a pretty good start for the first four games, and then I tore my bicep tendon," Pugh said. "Came back in 2018, played through a little bit of a shoulder injury, but I only missed one game. We won the (Mid-American Conference). Got surgery after that season. And then in 2019, two games, I reinjured that same shoulder, so I lost my second season. I missed 2021 because the last practice of spring ball, I tore my ACL in a non-contact injury – you know it was just one of those, stepped wrong and it went."
Any of those injuries on their own could have been an opportunity for Pugh to give up on his college football dream. But each time, he found the strength to keep fighting back.
How does he do it?
"Each one is different process. I think this last one – my ACL - was probably the hardest to come back from because it's such a mental fight," Pugh said. "But you kind of just set a goal, achieve that goal, and once you get in a groove achieving those goals, it almost becomes fun. You know, I'm not necessarily saying I enjoy getting injured or anything like that, but just to see the growth that I achieve setting the goal and then achieving that goal."
What fuels him through the tough moments?
"My faith," Pugh said. "Obviously, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – my mom always talks about how He gives His hardest battles to His toughest soldiers. So when I'm feeling really rough, I kind of remind myself of that."
Pugh still mostly feels like any other player when he is out on the football field, but on campus, that is when being a 25-year-old can feel a little bit different.
"I stay in my room a lot, watch a lot of movies, play Xbox every once in a while," he said. "You can definitely notice the age difference."
And Pugh really just has one simple goal for this his eighth, and absolutely final, year at NIU.
"I want to go out a champion. I think I've been here long enough," he said. "The eight years would all be worth it."
The Chicago Heights native says the grind of school is the only thing that has made him really consider walking away earlier - saying he is tired of going to class. But on the bright side, he is on pace to finish his second master's degree in sports and exercise pathology, so as to help people with eh mental side of rehab.