Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Washington is one of the more pleasant surprises in the nation this year as the Huskies put their perfect 4-0 record on the line at Stanford. One of the fans most excited about watching the Huskies is star running back Bishop Sankey’s grandfather, who will see his grandson play for the first time since corrective surgery restored his sight.
Grandpa Sankey, as he’s known in the family, has been without sight in his left eye for 30 years, and lost a battle with glaucoma which robbed him of sight in his right eye. On Sept, 20 he underwent surgery in an attempt to restore the sight in his right eye with a cornea transplant, and the operation was a success. “I was blind and now I can see,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”
The younger Sankey has run for 607 yards on 104 carries, and is the nation’s leading rusher at 151.75 yards per game. The 5-foot-10, 203-pound Spokane native is the definition of a workhorse running back, having accumulated 100 of his carries in three games and is coming off a 40-carry performance in last week’s win over Arizona.
Sankey leads the No. 11 ranked rushing offense against a Stanford defense that is allowing only 45.3 rushing yards per game when you exclude their game vs. Army, who runs the ball on nearly every down.
Then again, they haven’t played a running back as talented as Sankey yet this season, and you have to think he’ll be extra motivated to have the game of his life with his grandpa watching him play in college for the first time.
Patrick’s a college football writer for Rant Sports and radio host on Sportstownchicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt and add him to your Google network.
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