Josh Holsey Inspired by Father

[aubiefifty 17,487]

Auburn's Josh Holsey inspired by amputee father in return from 2nd ACL surgery

 

 

All Josh Holsey could think about early last September was how he didn't want to go through this again.

After an MRI revealed he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament against Jacksonville State last season, Holsey initially wanted to give up. It was the second time in two years that the Auburn defensive back tore the ligament in his knee. He didn't know if he could endure the rehabilitation process a second time around.

Doubt crept into Holsey's mind. After overcoming the first knee injury, fate had cruelly taken away his second chance. He wondered if he would ever play football again — or if he even wanted to.

Holsey was presented with two options to repair his ACL. The first: Doctors could replace his tendon with one from a cadaver — a procedure that would have prevented him from ever playing football again. The second: Doctors could use the tendon from his right knee to replace the one in his left. That procedure required both knees to be operated on, which didn't sit well with Holsey, but it left open the possibility for a return to the playing field.

One way or another, Holsey required surgery, and he had to decide rather quickly. He discussed the options with his parents, though the ultimate decision was in his hands.

His first thought was to go with Option A — the easier choice, ending his career and focusing on earning his undergraduate degree. After sleeping on the decision, Holsey had a change of heart.

"The next day he kind of decided 'I have to fix it, so if I'm going to fix it, I may as well fix it with the option that gives me options, whether I choose to play in the future or not,'" his mother Marilyn Davis said.

Holsey was unsure if he wanted to play football again after a second knee injury, but he wasn't ready to permanently close the door on the possibility. Then, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound defensive back found inspiration 7,100 miles away in Kuwait, where his father, Johnathon Holsey, was stationed with the U.S. Army.

"One thing I've always told him is giving up is never an option," Johnathon Holsey said. "No matter what happens, you can still overcome it. That's one thing I told him, even after the first time, I was like, 'giving up is not an option.' That's kind of what we always tried to let him know.

"We made him believe he knew what he was capable of doing, and he knew what the recovery was after the second one. Even then, we told him that giving up is not an option and that's not one of your options right now."

*****

Johnathon Holsey can't remember much about the events of  Nov. 10, 2004, but it's a day he won't ever forget — his "Alive Day."

While stationed in Iraq as part of the 2nd Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 503d Infantry, Johnathon and his unit were sent on a convoy mission to deliver mail and other supplies to fellow troops. On their route, Johnathon's vehicle — in which he was a passenger — struck an improvised explosive device (IED) on the road in Ramadi.

The resulting blast caused serious damage to the vehicle and severe damage to Johnathon's left leg. All he could remember was that when he regained consciousness, his glasses were broken and he was in excruciating pain.

"I don't really remember a lot of it," he said. "I could remember bits and pieces. I can actually remember us preparing to go on the convoy. I can remember talking to someone and we were actually discussing which vehicle I was going to ride in, but as far as the actual incident when the IED went off and everything, I don't remember that... I always see it as more of a blessing that I don't remember it.... That day is just kind of vague."

Auburn's Joshua Holsey on military influences

Back in Georgia, where Marilyn Davis was taking care of Holsey and his older brother, Brandon Ponder, Davis received an early morning phone call from the Army telling her Johnathon was severely injured but didn't explain the extent of the injury.

Davis went to wake up Holsey, then just 10 years old, to break the news to him before he went to school that morning.

"That was kind of devastating," Davis said. "He was a little kid, and he looked up to his dad and he was, I think his first thing was 'Is my dad going to be in a wheelchair? If my dad's in a wheelchair, then I'm going to be in a wheelchair, too.' You know because he's little and he don't know no better.

"Like, however his dad is going to function, that's how he's going to figure out how to function too. All of that was kind of before we knew how serious it was."

About three days later, Johnathon was back stateside. He was transported from Iraq to Germany, then from Germany to Washington D.C., where he was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and reunited with his family.

"I just remember (Josh) coming in and crying," Johnathon said, "and being happy I was still alive."

*****

Doctors initially thought they could save Johnathon's left leg when he arrived at Walter Reed. They quickly realized amputation was the only solution.

Two weeks after the blast that changed his life, on Nov. 24, 2004, Johnathon's left leg was amputated below his knee.

Johnathon dealt with depression and spent countless nights crying. Even then, he didn't let the loss of a limb deter him.

"I always felt like I wanted to live life and just be able to do the things — my idea was I always wanted to get my life back as close to normal as possible," Johnathon said. "To me, normal was where I was before I lost my leg."

Within three months, Johnathon received a prosthetic leg. With what Davis described as a new lease on life, Johnathon was determined to make the most of his second chance.

He continued his rehab at Walter Reed, where his family visited to provide support and guidance. Johnathon learned to walk with his new prosthetic, and not long after that he began to jog. That jog turned into a run, and the possibilities opened up for Johnathon as he became accustomed to his new normal.

"I never seen my dad not be able to do anything," Holsey said. "He was kind of down at first when he first got his prosthetic at first, but then I seen him just start running and going skiing and he got faster, so when I seen him be able to get better and do what he was doing with a prosthetic, it was like he's back to normal now. Everything was back regular then."

Not only did life return to normal for Johnathon, he began attempting things he "never dreamt" of doing before his amputation. He began skiing and snowboarding. A year removed from his surgery, he completed the New York City Marathon, using a hand-crank bicycle for the first part of the race before ditching it and jogging/walking the remainder of the 26.2 miles.

Auburn defensive back Josh Holsey and his father, Johnathon Holsey, before a 5K run to support breast cancer awareness last year in Atlanta. (Photo courtesy Marilyn Davis)Marilyn Davis 

Running became therapy; it drove Johnathon, who routinely ran with his son — often competing against him too. The duo ran a 5K to support breast cancer awareness in Atlanta on May 9, 2015, the day before Mother's Day.

"That changed my outlook on a lot of things to see him do things like that," Holsey said. "He's already one of my big heroes and I look up to him, so to see him come back from what he been through to go run that far with a prosthetic leg was amazing to me to see that."

Johnathon continued to serve in the military, and in 2009 he became the first amputee to attend and graduate the Warrant Officer Career College. He was featured on Oprah in 2009 and in Ebony magazine pictured with former four-star general and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Last month he ran the Army 10-mile race, his eighth in the last nine years.

"He still did everything and more, so to Josh he was just dad," Davis said. "He wasn't an amputee. He was just dad. I don't think Josh saw different. He didn't see a handicapped person because his dad didn't act handicapped."

*****

Josh Holsey didn't know if he wanted to return to the field after his second ACL surgery last September.

The rehab process was difficult enough the first time around. His mother had concerns about whether he'd be able to clear the mental hurdles of trusting the stability of the knee while playing.

Then Holsey thought of his father in Kuwait and everything he persevered through, and accomplished, over the last decade-plus.

"Josh was like, I still have my leg, I'm just missing a tendon, so what really is my excuse?" Davis said. "If my dad can still do it, why can't I? And you know, it's a guy thing too; you don't want to look at your dad and say 'I know you worked hard, but I'm afraid to make this journey.' It kind of drove him to know that no matter what, I need to at least be able to face this."

Holsey made up his mind. He wanted to return for a fifth season at Auburn as a redshirt senior, so he embarked on the road to recovery.

"You don't want to look at your dad and say, 'I know you worked hard, but I'm afraid.'" — Marilyn Davis

 

The process was grueling once again, but Holsey had been through it once before, so he knew what to expect. Still, there were times when he was down and wanted to quit. His teammates lifted him, as did former defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson — who is now the defensive coordinator at South Carolina — and, of course, his father.

"His personality in itself kind of helps me," Holsey said. "It just motivates you to do better.... Seeing how he persevered through that, it just helped me to keep fighting and keep grinding as hard as I possibly can to get back to where I am now."

Whenever Holsey had his doubts, his father would rib him on and get his mind right. "Boy, it's just a tendon; you'll be alright. At least you still got your leg," Johnathon would say, much to the chagrin of Davis.

"He wouldn't allow him to feel bad for himself or get down," Davis said. "You just got to do what's next. Life just doesn't always come at you the way you plan, and you just always got to do what's next. Suck it up, basically."

Holsey was limited during spring practice before returning full swing in fall camp. There was just one issue: He refused to play with the knee brace Dr. James Andrews and Auburn's athletic training staff wanted him to wear on his surgically repaired knee.

Auburn defensive back Joshua Holsey: Aug. 5, 2016

Holsey wore the brace after his first return from surgery, and his thought process was that it didn't prevent him from reinjuring the knee a second time. He wanted to play freely, and if that meant injuring the knee a third time, then so be it; it just wasn't meant to be in that case.

After what Davis called a "come to Jesus" talk with the trainers and Andrews, both sides came to an agreement: Holsey would wear the brace during the first two weeks of fall camp before deciding if he was comfortable without it.

By the time the season rolled around, Holsey was 100 percent and in his "best shape." Above all, he was ready to give football another chance.

"Always watching what I had to overcome with losing my leg as an amputee, I think he could always see me trying to push hard no matter what, even when I probably didn't want to try do certain things I just always tried to do it," Johnathon said. "I just tried to be an example for him as a young man and let him know that as long as you believe in what you can do and what you're capable of doing, nothing is impossible. I think for him, I guess him seeing those trials and seeing those struggles, he understood that.

"I think for that reason, that's probably why — even though he may have had his doubts when he tore his ACL for the second time, it is not in him to just give up because he knows how to just push forward from watching me and how we tried to always teach him that."

*****

Johnathon Holsey hollered at his television in excitement last Saturday night from his home in Frederick, Maryland, where he recently moved to do human resource work for a signal brigade at Fort Detrick.

Joshua Holsey intercepts Chad Kelly's pass to help seal Auburn's win over Ole Miss

Nearly 900 miles away in Oxford, Mississippi, his son had just intercepted Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly in the fourth quarter, helping seal Auburn's 40-29 win against the Rebels — the Tigers' fifth in a row following a 1-2 start to the season.

"I was pointing it out to everybody," Johnathon said. "It's just a great accomplishment, because I always say that I'm always happy because in his life he's able to do the things he wanted to do. For me, that's what's important, the fact that he can live out his dream and that he has the opportunity to do and go as far in life as he wants to."

Holsey has enjoyed somewhat of a career rebirth in his third go-around at Auburn. After persevering through the two knee surgeries, as well as four defensive coordinators and multiple position shifts, Holsey is flourishing in his final season for the Tigers.

Through eight games, the versatile defensive back has seven starts at cornerback and he has 18 tackles to go along with a team-high-tying two interceptions and eight pass breakups. His 10 passes defended are tied for third in the SEC this season.

Last week against Ole Miss, Holsey had one of his finest games. To go along with his game-sealing interception, which coach Gus Malzahn called the play of the game, Holsey had five pass breakups and received a grade of 93.9 from Pro Football Focus (the highest grade handed out in Week 9), which noted he was targeted 10 times and allowed only two receptions for 34 yards.

"I probably underestimated just how smart a football player he is," Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. "Not that I thought he was not, it was just that that guy's like a coach out there. He knows what he needs to do on every snap and on most instances he's telling people around him what they're getting ready to run. That's the thing he does so well."

As he looks back at what he has accomplished this season as the elder statesman of Auburn's defense, Holsey said not even he expected this type of season, adding that "things kind of work out in your favor sometimes."

 

After overcoming 2nd ACL tear, Holsey is having fun again

Just to get out there and run around and make plays with my teammates, it's probably the best thing that I could be doing right now.

 

"For us it's just amazing," Johnathon said. "One, because he just believed in himself and believed that he could come back and do well. He always felt like if he wanted to be able to perform and show people really how well he could play in spite of what happened to him and having an ACL tear. The surgery last year, he was just strong-minded and knew he was going to be able to do well this year."

On Saturday, when No. 9 Auburn (6-2, 4-1 SEC) hosts Vanderbilt (4-4, 1-3 SEC) at 11 a.m. in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Holsey will look to keep his dream senior season going. Both his parents will be in attendance, as they typically are for home games, though this one will have some added significance for the Holsey household.

Auburn will be celebrating Military Appreciation Day at the game, honoring both veterans and active service members. It's a game, Davis said, the family takes "a little bit more pride in." Along with Johnathon serving in the Army, Davis is a former military member, as was Holsey's grandfather.

While the day will have some added significance, Holsey — much like his father 12 years ago — is just grateful to be making the most of his latest opportunity. The doubt has escaped his mind, he's at peace with his decision to return, and he's playing what he called the best football of his career.

All thanks to inspiration from his father.

"Hopefully," Holsey said, "I can do something special for my pops."

Auburn defensive back Joshua Holsey: Nov. 1, 2016

 

[AUloggerhead 2,308]

Wow.  Tremendous article & absolutely uplifting.  War Damn Joshua & Johnathan!

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Thanks for posting. Hoping Saturday will be special for both of these fine men.WDE

[Tiger 8,835]

I've been actually thinking that Holsey has really been an enormous contributor for us this year and I cannot be happier for him after what he has had to go through. He's been making a lot of plays for us this season.