By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – I remember thinking Brandon Snyder was being delusional when he said at the Iowa football team’s media day in early August that his goal was to play this season.

The junior defensive back made that bold statement approximately four months after having suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in April.

It still is less than six months since the injury occurred, and if you know anything about torn ACL’s, six months usually isn’t enough time to heal.

A torn ACL usually takes eight to 12 months to heal, and for some, it takes even longer than that.

But then there’s Snyder, whose healing powers seem extraordinary.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz raised a few eyebrows, at least mine, when he said to the media on Tuesday that Snyder could see some action in Saturday's game against Illinois at Kinnick Stadium.

“He's been cleared,” Ferentz said. “.He was cleared last week, so we're trying to move him forward. We'll see what the week brings here.

“He's doing a good job in practice, and I think it's fair to say he may be out there. How much, I don't know yet.”

Even one play would be incredible under the circumstances.

Recovering from a serious knee injury in six months in order to live a normal life is one thing. Recovering from a serious knee injury in six months in order to play at the highest level of college football is another.

The fact that Snyder is in position to play so soon after being injured is a tribute to his work ethic, courage and toughness, and a tribute to Iowa’s medical staff.

Snyder deserves praise for embracing his rehabilitation, but he hasn’t been alone despite often being away from his teammates.

From his doctors to the trainers to the Iowa coaches and other staff members who assist with injured players, Snyder has benefited from a group effort that involves people from all walks of life.

“As you might well imagine, the medical guys downstairs and the guys that come over here and work with our players and really are the ones who are signing off, the hospital folks, the doctors, that's their level of expertise,” Ferentz said. “That's what they do, and they work with our strength staff. So every player goes through certain protocol to get back from any injury. They've got a very specified plan that everybody follows.”

“I think when we talk about injuries in general — might be two weeks, might be four weeks, all that kind of stuff, but everybody is different, you just never know what's going to happen. So obviously Brandon must be a quick healer. He works really hard and has worked hard in the rehab part of it. But, he's cleared the hurdles a little faster than the average person, so at least he's going to affect those numbers when they're doing their studies.

“But everybody goes through a really extensive protocol, and that's way out of my realm. I just listen, and they tell me what's okay, what's acceptable, what isn't acceptable, those kinds of things, and we've been tuned in here for about a month on this thing.”

Some bodies simply heal faster than others. And if you combine those healing powers with a burning desire to get healthy and top-notch medical supervision, you can defy the odds.

The 6-foot-1, 214-pound Snyder has been defying the odds since he came to Iowa as a walk-on after a celebrated multi-sport career at West Lyon High. Snyder was redshirted like any other walk-on in 2014, but he played extensively on special teams as a redshirt freshman then started all 13 games at free safety as a sophomore in 2016.  

He struggled during the early stages of last season, but was arguably one of the most improved players on the team by the end of the season.

Junior walk-on Jake Gervase started the first three games at free safety this season before losing the job to sophomore Amani Hooker, who has held his own despite having little experience.

But Snyder was starting for a reason.

He knows the defense inside and out and he knows what it takes to compete at this level, both physically and mentally.

His return should provide a boost for an Iowa secondary that has struggled to defend the pass at times this season. Iowa’s two safeties also have struggled with tackling in space and with taking the right pursuit angles.

“He’s a tough dude,’ said Iowa senior linebacker Josey Jewell, who’s a pretty tough dude himself. “He came back pretty quick for something like that to happen.

“He’s a very vocal guy on our team, and a great leader.”

The fear, of course, is that Snyder will come back too soon and be vulnerable because even with the best medical care, you still never know.

But you also can’t be scared to test yourself, and Snyder has been testing himself since he became a Hawkeye.

He also trusts the Iowa medical staff, and deservedly so, because they truly are experts and would never clear somebody without having enough information to do so.

This is just an unusual case, and a reminder to never doubt Brandon Snyder about his healing powers.