AUBURN, Ala. – If you ask Auburn coach Gus Malzahn about his former player, Josh Fohner, the first word that comes to mind is "winner."
"He's a winner," Malzahn said. "And he's got a great heart."
Fohner was a winner when he played on Malzahn's 2005 Springdale High School team that won the Arkansas state championship. Nicknamed "Rook" by Malzahn, the younger wide receiver was one of the only sophomores who played that season and even scored a touchdown in the state title game.
Two years later, playing for Har-Ber High School, Fohner once again scored in the state title game and won his second state championship in three years.
"He was an excellent player," Malzahn said. "On our 2005 state championship team, I think he was the only sophomore that played. He was just an excellent player and then he played for me at Tulsa. Excellent player, great person."
Thirteen years later, Fohner remains a winner – only this time, he's fighting for his life.
Photo: Josh Fohner (No. 5) sitting to the right of Gus Malzahn.
Two years ago Wednesday, Fohner was living in Colorado and riding his bike home from the gym after a morning workout when he was struck by a motor vehicle. The prognosis wasn't good. Fohner had sustained a massive head trauma and needed immediate surgery. Even after the surgery, the doctors at the hospital told the family that the chances of survival were slim.
One doctor, in particular, held up his hand, and between his thumb and forefinger, there was just a little bitty inch. "There's always this chance that something will come back," he said. "We're not promising you that, but you need to know that there's always that chance."
"I think collectively in that room, it was 'Oh my gosh, he just gave Josh a window,'" Josh's father, Mike Fohner said. "It was not a room full of wishful thinking. It was a room full of Josh's closest friends and family who know him and knew that if you give him a chance, he'll make the most of it. And no one was going to take that away.
"So as I kind of spoke back to the doctors, it was that if you're telling me there's potential, we know Josh. I said I feel like I'm at Vegas and we're going to take all of our chips, we're going to put them on Josh's number and we're all in for Josh."
After that meeting, the friends and family who were present went out into the waiting room and immediately set up a website – allinforjosh.org. They also put word out to send pictures, and if you sent a text message or note, it would be put up in Josh's room. Within 24 hours, every piece of his wall, all of the mirrors, everything, was covered with those notes.
"I think for the staff, it was 'Hey, Josh is a person. He's not a body," Mike said.
Photo: Josh Fohner was a diehard Auburn fan growing up.
This weekend, two years after the accident, Josh and his family are traveling to Auburn to attend the Auburn-Southern Miss football game. Josh still can't walk or talk, but it's a testament of how far he's come since the accident and the progress he's made.
Over the course of that time, Josh has moved every part of his body. He uses his foot primarily to communicate and has a way of saying yes and a way of saying no. He can even go through the alphabet that same way to build messages. He can also use his face where he shakes his head no and looks up to say yes. Through it all, regardless of what doctors once told him, he's not once given up.
"I don't know how patient I could be in that," his father Mike said. "He has been just remarkably strong and remarkably patient, and in many ways has taught me more probably in these past two years than I ever taught him the first 28."
Earlier in the week, Josh met with the same doctor that showed the family that inch and gave him that window when the accident first happened, and he was blown away by how far Josh had come. He encouraged Josh to stay the course and that he's going to impact the lives of a lot of people.
So the game this weekend will be significant in that Josh is simply able to attend. But it will also be an opportunity to reunite with Malzahn and watch his favorite team play.
"I think it's going to be really a super big deal," Mike said. "Number one, Josh had great admiration for Gus. When Josh was in junior high and they do that job shadowing thing, Josh asked Gus if he could job shadow with him because he was the athletic director here in Springdale. So Josh always had admiration for him.
"But also, just his whole life, he has been an avid Auburn fan. Even as he went to Arkansas, he still pulled for Auburn. That was true of his brother and sister as well. All three graduated from Arkansas but have remained Auburn fans."
"I'm looking forward to seeing him," Malzahn said. "He was an Auburn fan way back when. So it's pretty neat, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him and his family."
For more on information on Josh and his story, click here.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf
All in for Josh: Former player to reunite with Gus Malzahn after accident
