The thought crossed Dorian Gerald's mind on Aug. 31 that his football career might have come to an end.
The University of Arkansas defensive end, a junior-college transfer who had earned a starting role, came out of the game in a rush late in the first half with a big problem in his neck.
Trainers and medical staff gave him immediate attention to deal with an artery that had begun swelling.
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Gerald, appearing with the media Monday for the first time since suffering the season-ending injury, was asked whether he thought his football days were done.
"You know, in the beginning, right when it happened, I thought it was," Gerald said. "But you know the doctors came in and they told me it's not a career-ending type of injury. I just had to be out because I was on blood thinners."
The Razorbacks, already thin at defensive end, could have used him in 2019. His injury forced true freshman Mataio Soli into a starting role while he recovered from a broken bone in his hand, which he also suffered in the season opener.
Nearly a year after suffering his injury, Gerald is back with the first unit, ready to get in his first full season as a major college contributor. He and the Razorbacks will don full pads for the first time in camp today in practice No. 5.
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Gerald called the 11-game sit-out last season tough.
"It was my first injury ever in my whole life," he said. "I'd never even broken a bone before. It was hard to sit out and look at my teammates play and see where I could help and yet I couldn't help.
"It was rough. I ain't going to lie. It was. I hated it. I hate sitting out. I didn't like sitting out at all. But the good thing is, I saw it from a different perspective. The stuff that I saw ... like, 'Oh, I should have done this, I should have done that.' I saw it from a coach's perspective."
Gerald is hyped about what he's seeing from the Razorbacks' defensive front in camp, and he's fond of new position coach Derrick LeBlanc.
"No knock to anyone, but it's a lot more technical now," he said. "It's a lot more detailed, a lot more specific. Everything is attention to detail. Like small things. Footwork, everything.
"I think coach LeBlanc is doing a great job of coaching us. I didn't personally get this much coaching in my first two years here."
First-year Coach Sam Pittman is banking on Gerald to produce in the SEC much like he did at College of the Canyons (Calif.), where he racked up 96 tackles, 43 tackles for loss, 22 sacks and 6 forced fumbles in two seasons. The 6-3, 260-pounder was rated the No. 1 strong-side defensive end coming out of the junior college by 247 Sports in the 2018 signing class.
"He really, really looks good," Pittman said during the summer. "He's got tremendous foot speed, and he's another guy who should be a leader on our football team."
Pittman said he fully expected Gerald to show up when the pads went on.
"I've been really pleased with him of course, and I will be when we put pads on. We haven't yet, but I promise I will be. He's too talented for us not to be.
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"I've had one-on-one conversations with him about what we needed to do. He is a guy that could be a strong leader for us. Kids look up to him. He is getting his quickness back. He is getting stronger. I really like the kid, think he is smart, a good guy to have in that D-line room."
Gerald said leadership doesn't come naturally to him, but he's improving in that area heading into his senior year.
"I mean, that's what they put on me," he said. "They told me they want me to lead a little more vocally because ... I never was a guy to lead vocally. I always tried to lead by example, because speaking just never was me. But yeah, I think I've got to be more of a vocal leader this year for the team because I am a senior."
Gerald had been strictly on the left side during the previous regime, but now the Razorbacks are experimenting with fronts and flipping their ends as needed.
"We're very multiple on the defense," he said. "We're going to flip a lot. Like I said, last year I didn't flip sides at all. I never played on the right side until this year. We flip a lot."
Gerald, a native of Florence, S.C., said his time healing from the neck injury gave him a deeper appreciation for the game.
"Just sitting out, I couldn't wait for the time I got to put pads on again," Gerald said. "It was a little bit nerve wracking. I sat for a whole year.
"The first day [back at practice] was crazy. I felt like I was playing Little League again."