In 2007, Andrew Gachkar played as a true freshman for Mizzou. He made 16 tackles and forced a fumble, but most of his headlines came this off-season when he almost lost the chance to play football again.

As a linebacker, Gachkar shows his determination on the field.

"You're running 60 yards down the field on a kickoff. You need to be willing to throw your body around you gotta be ready to hit people," said Gachkar.

"You gotta be nuts. Andrew is pretty crazy. He'll run into a brick wall. He's just a tough kid," explained junior linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.

If Gachkar's actions don't convince you, his scars will. There are about two feet of them on his body.

"They still see the scaring and they are just like, 'Wow,' and they ask me lots of questions," stated Gachkar.

Gachkar's story started in January when he noticed swelling in his right arm.

"They said you probably have a blood clot," explained Gachkar.

Doctors told him he needed extensive surgery to stop the clotting.

"It kept pinching down on it and it created a blood clot there. So they needed to take out a rib, my first rib. Wow, it was a pretty big hit getting hit by that," said Gachkar.

Doctors removed nerves and replaced a vein with one from his leg. The April surgery lasted 18 hours and Gachkar lost more than 30 pounds.

"The day after in the hospital we went and saw him and he was white as a ghost and lost a ton of weight and I was wondering if he was ever going to play football again," stated Missouri Linebackers' Coach Dave Steckel. 

"Andrew said he felt like he got hit by a truck. We knew that it was pretty tough at that point," explained Weatherspoon. 

Gachkar missed all of the spring football workouts and his teammates doubted he'd make it back on the field in time to contribute this year.

"I was in the gym everyday at home. I was riding a bike, I was doing leg presses. Pushing the limits probably. Doctors probably weren't happy with what I was going," said Gachkar.

"He's really a warrior and I don't think quitting would ever enter his mind," stated Steckel.

Gachkar is back at practice now and he'll see time at linebacker and of course, he'll bring back his fearless play on special teams.

"It has to be the story of the year. I mean, what else can you talk about. If anybody went through something like that I don't think they'd be doing the same thing he's doing right now," explained Weatherspoon.  

"I feel like I was a hard worker before, but I feel like it makes me want to work even harder now," stated Gachkar.

Teammates say after the surgery he'd lost so much weight they didn't even recognize him, but he's back up to 220 pounds now.