Good story here from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Tom Groeschen, who delves into how Cincinnati tight end Jake Golic is back on the field and competing for playing time after a chronic back issue nearly ended his career a year ago.
Golic transferred to Cincinnati from Notre Dame after the 2012 season after playing sparingly at Notre Dame. But Golic -- son of “Mike and Mike” host and former Notre Dame/NFL defensive lineman Mike Golic -- didn’t play in 2013 after his back issue got to the point where he couldn’t participate in preseason camp.
But a stem cell procedure has helped alleviate Golic’s back pain and give him a fighting chance entering his sixth year of eligibility:Medically speaking, the therapies utilize adult mesenchymal, multipotent stem cells, taken from a patient’s own bone marrow concentrate, and then injected back into the same patient, directly into the injured, damaged, or painful area. In Golic’s case, his back.
As he recovered earlier this year, Golic discovered the pain had gone. Jake and his father then turned up at UC’s spring football game in April, with news that Jake felt better than ever. The NCAA soon granted Jake a sixth year of eligibility and here he is, wearing jersey No. 10 and trying not to smile every minute of ultra-serious football drills.It’s worth noting the Golic family paid out of pocket for the procedure, something plenty of families may not be able to afford. But thanks to it, Golic -- who didn’t play much at Notre Dame -- finally has a chance to compete for a starting spot at the college level.