GOING DOWN A FAMILIAR PATH UCLA'S JOSEPH IS BACK AFTER SECOND ACL SURGERY.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer

Chris Joseph was in the hospital bed, still groggy from the anesthesia, when his parents delivered the awful news.

The torn meniscus in Joseph's left knee was repaired, but the scheduled quick surgery produced something unexpected. The anterior cruciate ligament also was damaged, and needed to be replaced -- for the second time in 11 months.

``He knew as soon as we walked in the room and saw the look on our face,'' said Dr. Dan Joseph, Chris' father and a retired doctor. ``The doctor said the worst that could happen happened.''

Joseph, UCLA's 6-foot-5, 282-pound, starting weakside guard, broke down and cried.

As injuries go, surgery to repair an ACL is one of the worst. The recovery is nine months to a year, and the rehabilitation moves torturously slow. Players often say there is considerable physical pain, but the mental obstacles are far worse.

Described as a person whose ``glass is always full, not half full,'' by his father, even Joseph admitted he had doubts about whether his playing career was over.

``The nurse came in and said, `Hey, they fixed you.' I was like, `No kidding,' but then my parents came in and told me what happened and I started crying,'' Joseph said. ``Right then and there, it hurt pretty bad. (Football) is the biggest thing in my life right now, and I lost it for a couple of minutes. It took maybe a day or two to get over it, but I knew I didn't want to stop playing.''

Joseph, now a junior, underwent his first surgery Nov. 22, 2004, after he was injured during practice midway through his freshman season. His patellar tendon was used to replace his ACL, and he returned in time for August training camp and won a starting job.

He injured the left knee a second time last season against Cal, but headed into surgery believing he could be back in time for a bowl game.

Once the shock wore off about the meniscus repair turning into ACL surgery for the second time (a cadaver was used) Oct. 19, 2005, Joseph's goal was to get back for training camp.

``The first time, it was tough. It was an uphill battle,'' Joseph said. ``The second time, I knew exactly what I was getting into. It was way easier.''

So it wasn't long before Joseph was at UCLA, rehabbing his knee, providing inspiration and giving advice to a pair of teammates attempting to recover from the same injury, but for the first time.

Receiver Junior Taylor, defensive end Nikola Dragovic and Joseph each underwent ACL surgery in the same month, and the three formed a rehab bond.

``Sometimes I was getting sore, and I didn't know why I was getting sore, and my knee would swell up and I would think I was doing something wrong,'' Dragovic said. ``He was always there to be like, `No, that's normal.' He was basically holding me up the whole year.''

Originally, Tom Cable, UCLA's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2004 and 2005, talked to Joseph about red-shirting this season. The belief was it would give Joseph, who missed offseason workouts for two straight years, time to get stronger and to mature.

After all, Joseph is a 19-year-old junior whose birthday is Dec. 20.

But that changed when Cable took a job with the Atlanta Falcons, and former NFL assistant Jim Colletto returned to UCLA to coach the offensive line.

``When coach Cable was here, I was planning on (red-shirting),'' Joseph said. ``Then he left, we got a new coach in, he knew nothing about me, I can't play spring ball for him and we have all these freshmen (offensive linemen) coming in and they're so highly touted, I didn't want to burn a year and then be forgotten about.''

So Joseph did the rehab again, with his eyes on being ready for training camp. But the drama wasn't over.

During the summer, Joseph had an MRI to check the progress of his second ACL surgery. A doctor, and family friend, near Joseph's Solvang home saw something peculiar when reading the MRI.

``A third surgery was recommended,'' Dan Joseph said. ``This is someone I respect.''

But Dan Joseph said he was told that after a pair of surgeries, reading an MRI can be difficult, so the family sought opinions from UCLA head physician Dr. Gerald Finerman and assistant team physician Dr. David McAllister.

``Dr. McAllister told me, `If it was my kid, I would not recommend surgery,''' Dan Joseph said. ``He said there were guys in the NFL playing with a partially torn ACL or with a torn ACL. He said, `I'd put a brace on him.'''

Ultimately, Chris decided two ACL surgeries were enough. He wanted to play.

``(Playing football) is paramount. This is my life,'' said Joseph, a geology major with a 3.96 grade-point average. ``This is the most influential thing that has happened to me.''

Joseph said he is not worried about reinjuring his knee, and rarely thinks about his past. In fact, he's mastering blocking out his two previous surgeries.

``If we're not in full pads, I'll go to put my knee brace on and put it on the wrong knee, and I'll look down and see the scar and realize I have to put it on my (left) knee,'' Joseph said. ``I'm definitely not the same player as when I came in here athletically. Some things I can't do any more. It's (noticeable) with change of direction, reaction, with defensive linemen, and maybe not as light on my feet.''

Still, Joseph is part of a promising -- albeit young -- and athletic offensive line that led the way as tailbacks Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell rushed for a combined 310 yards against Rice.

The same unit struggled in protecting quarterback Ben Olson in that game, although it excelled in that area in the opener against Utah. However, the offensive line could not churn out much of a running game against the Utes.

``Here's a kid, a 4.0 student, a great player, played as a freshman for us and got hurt,'' UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. ``Then he comes back the next year, he's a starter, a true sophomore, gets hurt. He hasn't really played a full season.

``Then, as a coach, you get disappointed about, here's a guy that is sharp, and really a very good football player and not getting an opportunity to finish out a season. I was probably more disappointed than him for what has happened.''

Meanwhile, Joseph's parents attend the games, proud but not surprised about what their son overcame twice, and mindful of what can happen again.

``Any time he goes down,'' Dan Joseph said, ``we squirm a little bit.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) JOSEPH

(2) Chris Joseph (60) is back on the Bruins' offensive line after missing parts of his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer