SJSU LB returns to football a year after nearly dying in fire

San Jose State linebacker Jared Leaf is back on the football field almost a year after suffering second- and third-degree burns while escaping an apartment fire.

"Jared is taking another step on his comeback trail," Ron Caragher, San Jose State’s football coach told the Mercury News. "We'll see how he does. It really comes down to the strength of the skin because he's still recovering. But I think he's rounding third base in his recovery."

Leaf was a starting linebacker for the Spartans last spring before he awoke to a smoke-filled third-floor apartment on April 23. To escape the blaze, Leaf went to a nearby window, took a deep breath, and then ran through a living room of black smoke and flames to get out of the engulfed room.

Leaf was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center after suffering second- and third-degree burns throughout his upper body, neck, arms and hands. He was in the burn unit for 40 days, placed in a medically induced coma for his first two weeks there and nearly died after he developed an infection after his first surgery. He had skin grafts taken from his thighs for burns on his back. His hands were burned so badly that he wasn’t able to make a fist or shake hands.

"Only time will tell at this point. Like I said, I feel exponentially better every day,” Leaf said months after the accident. “So I'll probably feel good enough to play one day but I have to get cleared by a doctor. And football being a violent sport, I've got to think about the sensitivity of my skin because right now, as the doctors say, it's like baby skin basically. It's really sensitive. But there's no telling how quickly I'll heal and how soon I'll be able to get cleared."

The fact that he’s back practicing with the Spartans for spring drills is a miracle.

Leaf also is back acting, a pursuit he was heavily involved in prior to his accident. He stars in a short movie called "Fortune-Telling," which tells the story of a man who gives up his dream of acting after he is struck with unspeakable tragedy. Though Leaf’s character never explicitly says what happened to him, there’s a scene where the camera pans his badly burned torso.

Leaf told the Mercury News that while he and the character he plays might have the scars in common, he never gave up on his dreams of acting and returning to the football field.

"I've never let anything stop me," said Leaf, 21. "But if you're going to be a good actor, you sometimes have to play something you're not."

Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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