In a matter of hours D’Angelo Durham went from using his legs to run for touchdowns to having doctors fight to save one of them.

Playing in his fourth game as a Cowboy, the transfer running back led McNeese State to its first win last fall. Durham ran for 157 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries against Mississippi College.

What was expected to be the start of a great season for the back turned into a nightmare.

When he woke the following morning, his left leg was swollen and throbbing in pain.

“I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Durham said.

Within hours surgeons were working on him and his season was over.

“It happened so fast, I really didn’t know what to think of it all,” Durham said.

Durham had played the night before with a torn muscle that had swollen and blocked the flow of blood to his lower leg.

Essentially he was playing on one leg when he helped beat Mississippi College.

“His pain threshold was so high he didn’t know he was hurt,” McNeese head coach Gary Goff said. “It really was amazing when you think about it.”

Durham, a senior had his season end just as it was getting started. He finished the season with 340 yards on 35 carries and three touchdowns, averaging 9.7 yards a rush.

Durham decided right away he would come back for one more year with the Cowboys and began his rehab as soon as possible.

“It was tough at times, but I had to keep working,” Durham said. “I wanted to play again.”

Last Saturday Durham was back on the field in McNeese’s second spring scrimmage. It was the end of his first week back at full contact.

Durham finished the scrimmage with five carries for 31 yards, looking like he never left.

“I feel great,” Durham said. “No pain at all. It was good to get that first hit out of the way.

“In my mind there was no doubt I would be back.”

And he came back a different player and person.

“He has become a real leader,” Goff said. “He is on a mission this year. He has been vocal and made others accountable and take responsibility.

“D’Angelo is making the most of this season.”

Durham came to McNeese after three seasons at Savanah State, where he ran for 1,662 yards and 20 touchdowns.

But it is what he learned while on the sideline last fall that changed him so much he was named one of the team captains heading into this year.

“D’Angelo has size and gives us a calmness around the team,” Goff said. “He has become a real leader.”

Now Durham wants to build on what he started last season.

“Watching, I got to figure out some things and it made me want to play even more,” he said. “I want to have a complete season and help us win.”

With two healthy legs Durham could run McNeese back into the spotlight.