Colleges

Bull experiences harsh reality check

Moise Plancher said sitting out 2006 was hard. Then he saw the dreadful conditions in Haiti.

By GREG AUMAN
Published August 15, 2007

TAMPA - Moise Plancher expected a week of vacation, a chance to see his grandparents, to visit his parents' birthplace for the first time since he was 2 years old.

A trip to Haiti gave the sophomore running back something else: a new perspective on how much he had really lost in the past year.

It had been a frustrating year for Plancher, who was named the Bulls' starting running back before the 2006 season opener. On the first drive of the first game of his college career, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

In an instant, his season was over.

Months of rigorous, painful rehab would follow, watching his teammates from the sideline, a series of small, slow steps all just to get back to where he was a year ago. Tough as it all was, the visit to Haiti reminded him that all he really lost was a year of football.

"It humbled me when I got there," said Plancher, a 5-foot-9, 190-pounder from Naples.

"I don't want to take anything for granted. I saw things there that will stick with me for the rest of my life."

He saw children in the street, hungry, alone, "would do anything for food." Back home, his toughest practices, his worst memories of the hottest summer workouts, they always had a cooler of Powerade nearby, a PVC pipe full of holes spouting cool water in all directions, the promise of air conditioning in the near future.

"They struggle for water, for electricity," he said, shaking his head in a corner of the locker room at Raymond James Stadium, where he sustained the injury.

Haiti reminded Plancher of the life his father had overcome, of the different life Wilson Plancher had given him. Wilson came to the United States in 1979, and his wife, Ilana, followed in 1981.

Moise, who pronounces his name "Moses" but is often called "Mo" by teammates, is the youngest of four boys, all of whom have gone on to college. His brother, Willy, a defensive back, is entering his senior season at Bemidji State, a Division II school in Minnesota.

"They get their speed from their father," says Wilson, a chef at a Naples restaurant, recalling his days playing soccer as he grew up in Haiti. "I used to be the fast one."

Days after Plancher returned from Haiti last month, he was given medical clearance to practice. His physical rehab was largely done, and as practice started last week, he took on the challenge of reminding coaches of the promise that made him the starter a year ago.

"It's been a long process," he said. "I'm ready. I'm excited. Every day I play, my confidence builds more and more."

In truth, Plancher had perspective before he went to Haiti. He remembered how hard it was his first year at USF, when he redshirted and only practiced.

He had been a standout at Barron Collier High, rushing for a Collier County-record 362 yards in one game and totaling 3,115 yards in his final two seasons.

Practice was never as good as playing games, but last year, he learned it was so much better than nothing at all.

"To sit on the sideline, to not even be able to participate in practice, that's hard," Plancher said.

Running backs coach Carl Franks said he sees no residual effects of Plancher's injury. All that's left is proving what he can do in a game, having cleared the toughest physical and psychological hurdles in getting back to his current position.

"Everybody who's had knee injuries, eventually you rehab the thing so much, when you come out here, you really don't think about it. You can't. It's impossible," said Franks, who tore an ACL in 1984, pushing him toward a career in coaching. "You just go play. I don't think he thinks about it too much."

Plancher has other motivations. There are reminders of Haiti, even in his own locker room. He's one of five Bulls - with linebacker Brouce Mompremier and Sabbath Joseph, offensive tackle Marc Dile and defensive tackle Richard Clebert, all from Miami - who speak Haitian Creole and have relatives in Haiti.

Many, like Plancher, grew up in homes where Creole was spoken, so it's not uncommon to hear "sa k' pase" - Creole for "what's up?" - as a greeting.

Franks has many options in a deep, talented backfield that should give USF the consistent running game it lacked throughout last season, when Plancher watched from the sideline. The coach knows the challenge of overcoming an injury and said Plancher's trip to Haiti has only strengthened his resolve in returning to football this season.

"I'm sure he appreciated seeing his grandparents, his heritage, the culture he's from," Franks said.

"It makes you appreciate everything you have."

[Last modified August 14, 2007, 23:12:04]