Bucknell football coach Tim Landis is certainly happy to have Andrew Lair on his team, but the circumstances in which the sophomore got there were hardly cause for celebration.
Just over a year ago, Lair was in the thick of training camp as a freshman quarterback at the United States Naval Academy. But less than a week before his first game, he left camp for a more pressing issue.
"I went through boot camp and two-a-days, and then the hurricane hit back home," Lair said in an interview with Bucknell Athletics.
Hurricane Katrina brought the Metairie, La., native to Tennessee, his family's temporary home, after the storm. He followed his family to Florida, where his father reestablished his mortgage company.
Lair stayed there for several months, but when he was ready to return to school in 2006, the rising sophomore couldn't go back to Maryland.
The Naval Academy, which requires a nine-year commitment of its midshipmen, allowed him to leave only with the understanding that he couldn't come back.
So the talented freshman, who had considered SEC schools such as Ole Miss and Louisiana State, had to start his college search all over again. And this time, he took a different approach.
"I did not want to go to a I-A school," he said. "I wanted to go someplace smaller with good academics."
Enter the Lewisburg, Pa., liberal-arts college, which he chose over several other Ivy and Patriot League teams.
Once Lair decided to attend Bucknell, he seemed poised to challenge for the 2006 starting job. After all, the Bison had just lost their star quarterback, Dante Ross, to graduation.
He won it for good on opening day of this year, beating out junior Terrance Wilson during a 31-28 win over Duquesne.
But during Bucknell's fourth game, a 48-21 loss to Richmond on Sept. 23, Lair's football career was put on hold once again. While scrambling in the second quarter, he was tackled from behind and landed awkwardly on the ball.
The result was devastating: a broken collarbone. Lair certainly won't play this weekend against Penn, and he isn't likely to be back under center at all this year.
While Wilson will take over the signal-calling duties, Lair will be watching from the sideline. Still, he says he doesn't regret the path he's chosen and is even considering returning to the service after graduation.
"I might look into Officer Candidate School following graduation," Lair said, "but right now I am just worried about college."
For someone with Lair's experiences, there are worse worries to have than that.
