CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Trevor Grywatch felt fortunate when he won a roster spot at Virginia as a walk-on, and also when he got to play in a lopsided game last month.
The real gift for the junior linebacker, though, came last week.
That's when Grywatch spent 7 1/2 hours at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, having 1 1/2 cups of stem cells withdrawn from his blood in the hope it will help save a man's life.
The procedure was the result of a bone marrow drive that first-year coach Mike London had his players run in the spring. They signed up about 300 people, who allowed a cotton swab to be brushed against the inside of their cheek. Most of the other Cavaliers signed up as well.
Grywatch, it turned out, was a perfect match for a 60-year-old man with an acute form of leukemia and in desperate need of stem cells. Grywatch was surprised and excited.
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"When you sign up originally, you never really think about this even being a possibility," he said. "The odds are against the recipients to find identical matches. The fact that I was was so shocking to me at first."
And the decision on whether to help was not that difficult.
"The fact that someone's life could be helped out by you is a pretty incredible feeling and I really wasn't hesitant," he said.
Because of privacy laws, Grywatch said he knows little else about the recipient, and didn't even get word whether his stem cells had been given to the man. He said if both sides are willing after a year, the National Bone Marrow Registry could facilitate a meeting.
"There's an opportunity if he's willing, and I'd be more than willing," he said.
Irish are hurting
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame might be without all three of its top receivers Saturday when the Fighting Irish play Navy in the Meadowlands. For sure, the Irish will be missing two of their best pass catchers.
Coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday that speedy slot receiver Theo Riddick, a converted running back who is second on the team in catches, is out with a severely sprained right ankle.
Notre Dame had already lost star tight end Kyle Rudolph for the season with a torn hamstring.
And leading receiver Michael Floyd, who had three TD catches Saturday against Western Michigan while playing with a sore hamstring, will likely not practice this week, Kelly said.
Extra points
• Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said quarterback Ryan Mallett, who suffered a concussion last week, will be ready to play Saturday against Ole Miss. McGee said after Tuesday's team workouts that Mallett was out on the field practicing at full speed.
• Damien Berry will aim for his fourth straight 100-yard game when No. 25 Miami hosts North Carolina on Saturday. Only four Hurricanes - Willis McGahee, Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis and Frank Gore - have had three straight 100-yard rushing games in their UM careers.
