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The Tuscaloosa News
Why Alabama OC Ryan Grubb compared TE Josh Cuevas to Terrell Owens
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Why Alabama OC Ryan Grubb compared TE Josh Cuevas to Terrell Owens
NORMAN, Okla. − Alabama football has its tight end back, and he made plenty of difference in the Crimson Tide's 34-24 comeback win over Oklahoma in a College Football Playoff first-round game on Friday, Dec. 19. And what it took for senior Josh Cuevas ' return to the field is something Ryan Grubb won't soon forget.
Cuevas hadn't played since Alabama 's 23-21 loss to Oklahoma last month due to a foot injury, and the prognosis was bleak enough that Grubb, UA's offensive coordinator, didn't see him returning for the CFP. He even compared Cuevas to Terrell Owens, who miraculously recovered from a serious injury to play for the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots in 2005.
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"Josh Cuevas is one of the toughest kids I've ever seen play football. Mentally, physically, to be able to do what he did tonight is absolutely unbelievable," Grubb said. "People that are a little bit older remember Terrell Owens coming back and playing in a Super Bowl with a broken foot. I think he had a spiral fracture, you think about those kind of stories with a guy like Josh."
Cuevas caught four passes for 43 yards against the Sooners , and with another 12 days before the Crimson Tide (11-3) takes on Indiana in a CFP quarterfinal, he should be all the healthier for that Rose Bowl meeting.
"We didn't think there was any way he was going to play, and he just kept telling us he was going to find a way," Grubb added. "The doctors and Jeff (Allen) do an incredible job and got him back on the field. His mindset and perseverance is special, it's really rare."
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.
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This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why Alabama OC Ryan Grubb compared TE Josh Cuevas to Terrell Owens
