Trevor Wikre no longer receives high-fives when he returns to the huddle. Since Sept. 30, Wikre gives his teammates "high-fours."
Wikre, who gave his blood, sweat and tears as an offensive lineman at Mesa State in Colorado, decided to give one more sacrifice: His right pinkie.
Wikre elected to have the finger amputated rather than surgically repaired so he could play his senior season at Division II Mesa State (6-2).
"I was just running and my finger got caught up in a jersey on a bootleg," Wikre said. "I played the next play and it felt like some tape was down in the finger so I took off my glove and then is when I saw my bone sticking out of my skin. The reaction was just weird because I'm not very good with bones sticking out of my skin. It was weird, but we still had practice left and I wanted to finish."
Wikre is Mesa State's iron-man. He hadn't missed a game in four years for the Mavericks. So when he learned surgery on his dislocated finger would have a six-month recovery period, Wikre gave a quick and adamant response.
Cut it off.
Doctors advised against it. The finger could be salvaged, they told him. But Wikre wanted to salvage his senior season instead. A pinkie was a small price to pay to finish the season with his teammates.
"This team is amazing," he said. "It really is a family. For anyone of these guys, I would go to hell for or go through war with. When you have that kind of bond you are not going to allow something small in your life to wreck something great."
Wikre was unable to play against Colorado School of Mines Oct. 4, while the stitches on his amputated finger healed. Though delegated to sideline, he still contributed. He helped coach the guards and his backup, Joseph Bolognesi, to a 27-24 victory.
"The night Trevor got injured I texted him and asked him how he was doing and he said, 'It's cut off,'" Bolognesi said. "And I thought he was kidding, you know, and he said, 'No really it's off.' There was that initial shock like everyone else, but Trevor will give everything for his teammates, and he has told us that before."
Wikre now wears a protective cast over his ring finger and the amputated region of his hand. The area still feels tender when it's bumped, he said.
But the lost little digit hasn't affected his play or weight distribution at all. It just made him much less likely to get called for holding.
"I haven't been flagged in two games," Wikre jokes.
Wikre still receives e-mails from people either praising or condemning his decision to play. Wikre still contends that it wasn't that difficult of a choice. He said he thinks people have a right to their opinions.
Back on the field, his teammates make sure Wikre knows how they feel about his new-found stardom. With his new nickname, "T-Nubbs," and the habitual high-fours he receives on the sideline, Wikre has become a symbol for what loving the game of football means and what being part of a gridiron family is all about.
"My teammates are great," Wikre said. "They make jokes every day, and I love that. It shows family. You can't love somebody and not give them crap."
The Mavericks are tied for first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in Wikre's senior campaign. For Wikre a conference title is close enough to grab, even with only four fingers.
"In my mind, letting something so little stop us from doing something so great is just rude," Wikre said. "We have been working together for four years now, losing the final year of that for something so small is a joke in my mind."
Westfall's Picks
No. 7 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Texas (-13)
3:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC
Colt McCoy made a statement for the Heisman these past two weeks against Oklahoma and Missouri. McCoy and the Longhorns continue their Big 12 dominance.
Pick: Texas 35, Oklahoma State 21
No. 3 Penn State (-2) at No. 10 Ohio State
8 p.m. Saturday, ABC
Paterno hasn't been this excited since the advent of the light bulb. Nittany Lions roar out to an early lead and never look back.
Pick: Penn State 31, Ohio State 24
No. 9 Georgia at No. 11 LSU (-1 ½)
3:30 p.m. Saturday
This will be a defensive battle in Baton Rouge. Georgia sneaks by the Tigers. Excitement reigns.
Pick: Georgia 24, LSU 21
No. 8 Texas Tech at No. 19 Kansas (-2)
Noon Saturday
Texas Tech may be the most overlooked team in the country. Here comes the meat of the schedule. Playing four ranked teams in succession will define the season.
Pick: Texas Tech 31, Kansas 28
Virginia Tech at No. 24 Florida State (-5 ½)
3:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN360.com
Antone Smith of Florida State shows Virginia Tech why the Seminoles have one of the elite rushing offenses in the country.
Pick: Florida State 28, Virginia Tech 21
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