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Fighting through injuries

Four-star receiver Eldridge Massington (Mesquite, Texas/West Mesquite) considers it the most terrifying phone call he has ever had to make.

The USC commit was in a daze. He was in pain, his left knee ailing following a season-ending injury that left him devastated. His world had turned gray, concerns and uncertainties briefly replacing hopes and goals. At the forefront of it all was an inescapable call. Massington knew he had to pick up the phone and inform the USC coaching staff of what happened.

Numerous questions ran through Massington's mind: How would the USC coaches react to the news that he had completely torn the anterior cruciate ligament while participating in a skills camp at the University of Tennessee? What about his spot in the Trojans' vaunted recruiting class? Would that disappear as quickly as the injury had struck? Would his scholarship offer be pulled?