Get ready for Greenwood

Brett Greenwood's last moments as an Iowa Hawkeye were spent sitting on the turf at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

This wasn't what the walk-on turned scholarship player turned four-year starter signed up for. Greenwood was an action hero for the Hawkeyes. Earlier in this Insight Bowl, he picked off his 12th career interception, ending a Missouri scoring threat in the Iowa end zone. The Bettendorf native and Pleasant Valley grad started 40 plus games for Iowa from 2008 through the 2010 Insight Bowl.

Late in the third quarter, Greenwood jumped into a pile and suffered a neck injury, a combination of a stinger and a jammed neck.

He sat on the turf and wouldn't make eye contact with the Iowa trainers. He clearly didn't like what he was hearing in this moment.

Greenwood stared up into the stadium lights while Russ Haynes, who's now Iowa's head trainer, examined and eventually told Greenwood that his night, and thus his career at Iowa, was over.

'It's tough but you've got to look long term and do the smart thing,” Greenwood said after the game.

On Sept. 9, 2011, while working out to stay in shape for a run at the NFL, Greenwood went into sudden cardiac arrest because of a heart arrhythmia. He received CPR and a defibrillator was on the scene within minutes. He was flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where he was put into therapeutic hypothermia and a medically induced coma that lasted 27 days.

He suffered an anoxic brain injury because of the lack of oxygen. The initial diagnoses were a life that wasn't life. The road, as you can imagine, has been difficult.

There has been progress over the last four years. Greenwood can now walk with assistance of physical therapists. There have been gains in short-term memory.

Before last year's 'Run 3 for 30,” held by the Brett Greenwood Foundation at Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf, Brett's sister, Lindsey Brezenski offered an update in this Quad-City Times story from last year:

With his speech largely unfazed since coming out of a medically-induced coma that lasted over a month, the biggest issue still facing Greenwood is his short-term memory, which has improved, but not as significantly as his physical abilities.

'If I have a conversation with Brett, he would probably be able to have a decent conversation, it's just trying to remember things and what happened five minutes before, 10 minutes before,” Brezenski said 'That's the thing that tends to cause a lot of people a lot of problems with this specific type of anoxic brain injury he has, so that's something he's going to be working on for the years to come.”

Last Friday night, Greenwood, with the assistance of his physical therapist Matt Rokes and former Iowa and Bettendorf linebacker Pat Angerer, walked out for the coin flip before the Pleasant Valley-Bettendorf game at TouVelle Stadium in Bettendorf.

Saturday night, flanked by Angerer and Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle, Greenwood again walked onto the Kinnick turf. Not only did he walk out, Greenwood led the Hawkeyes 'swarm,” as he did during his playing days.

'We were hoping this day would come and it's here,” said Dave Greenwood, Brett's dad and a Cedar Rapids native. 'Coach Ferentz has been very gracious to us and to Brett. So we're looking forward to it.

'The biggest thing is it takes a lot of time and we've had a lot of help along the way and some great people have stepped up.

'We've been coming up to Iowa City about once a month at the new football facility working with Chris Doyle. I think it was early July we were in the weight room and Kirk came up and just asked if Brett would like to be honorary captain for one of the two night games. So he said whichever one you want, you get.

Dave Greenwood on support from Iowa fans: 'It's been that way really for four years. Everywhere you go people want to know how Brett's doing and they care a lot and they want to help. That's very much appreciated

I'm not smart enough to paint a picture of perspective for Greenwood's appearance in Kinnick tonight. That's a personal thing for you, whether you enjoy Iowa football or not.

(Plus, I don't want to go too dramatic. Remember, I covered Brett for four years at Iowa. Let me tell you, he wasn't down with the dramatic. I think I got him to crack a smile once or twice. I probably tried juggling and he probably thought, ‘This bleeping guy again.' And there's also the Angerer factor. Also not a man for the drama. He'll probably find my house and give me noogies for even mentioning his name here.)

I go back to that night in Arizona. The Pleasant Valley kid who played defensive back, punt returner, wingback and who was the backup quarterback as a sophomore. The kid who Pleasant Valley coach Ed Morrissey said 'He's a straight arrow. He's the hardest worker I ever had. He's the kind of kid you put a lot of faith in.”

The self-made Hawkeye, going from walk-on to four-year starter and all-Big Ten performer. He went from redshirt walk-on to No. 1 free safety at Iowa in a season. Who does that? No one, or not many.

This was a bad sign Greenwood didn't make eye contact with the trainers. Greenwood is one of those young people who shakes hands firmly and locks in on your eyes. Even as a young college kid, Greenwood's meet-and-greet was decidedly old school.

Greenwood sat on that turf and didn't budge for what seemed like forever. He eventually trudged to the sideline. He hated tapping out that night. You just know he won't do it again.

The look on his face Saturday night said that loudly and clearly.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com