For 2 Warriors, misery needed company

The worst time was the morning.

When the alarm sounded, the reset button was pushed on another day of intensive rehabilitation and treatment for a surgically repaired left knee.

“The hardest part was waking up every day, telling yourself to stay motivated and stay true to your workouts,” University of Hawaii football receiver Devan Stubblefield said of the yearlong physical and emotional trial.

What helped, somewhat, was Stubblefield had company for his misery. Jerrol Garcia-Williams, a teammate and inside linebacker, was in the same physical-rehabilitation program.

“We pushed each other a lot,” Garcia-Williams said.

Both players were hopeful entering the 2014 season — Stubblefield as a promising freshman from Saint Louis School, Garcia-Williams as a multi-skilled outside linebacker.

But on the first day of the 2014 training camp, Stubblefield crumpled in a heap on a non-contact play. He suffered tears to the ACL and meniscus in his left knee. He was done for a season that was one day old.

Three days after undergoing surgery, Stubblefield said, “I started rehab. That’s when the recovery began.”

During the second game of the season, Garcia-Williams suffered similar dual injuries to his left knee. Garcia-Williams joined Stubblefield in a rehabilitation program that featured electrical stimulation, physical therapy, exercise and leg-strengthening workouts.

“Jerrol is a lot stronger than me,” Stubblefield said. “He muscled a lot of weight. He kind of motivated me to push a little harder and keep up with him.”

Garcia-Williams noted that while Stubblefield was injured first, “everybody heals differently from an ACL. One person might take nine months, another person might take a year.”

There were days when the finish line appeared to move.

“The whole injury itself isn’t fun,” Stubblefield said. “Just going out of it mentally is tough. You have to fight through.”

They gave each other pep talks, sharing football plans for the future.

“It was just motivation,” Garcia-Williams said.

Stubblefield said: “Keeping that faith is huge, especially for me and my family. We’re very spiritual. You have to keep the faith. You have to tell yourself it might not be fun now, but at the end of it, it’ll be a better result.”

Both were cleared for modified work during spring training. In training camp, Garcia-Williams moved to inside linebacker, a position he played in high school. Stubblefield initially moved to right wideout to get a better first step.

In Saturday’s 47-27 victory over UC Davis, Stubblefield caught six passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. He caught all six passes when he was the intended target. He played left wideout, right wideout and slotback.

“I’m happy I had an opportunity to step up and make plays for the team,” Stubblefield said.

Garcia-Williams had a career-high 15 tackles, including 12 solo stops.

“I guess I’m 100 percent (healthy), but I still could get better,” Garcia-Williams said. “I still don’t feel how I did before the injury, but I feel pretty good.”

Stubblefield said: “It’s been a long year for both of us. I feel like (the UC Davis game was) part of our recovery. We’re on the uphill. We’re on the rise.”