Wake Forest Week, Vol. 3: Nosal's version of the Pinky Tale and some reactions ...

Greg Nosal is getting famous. ESPN's Erin Andrews is going to interview him about his missing chunk of pinky and ensuing bravery. The school is providing a 5-second clip of Nosal walking off the field with Dr. Marc Siegel carrying his nub in a bag. The story will run as part of ESPN's popular Game Day show this Saturday.

No need for many more of my words here. You’ve heard the facts. Now here's the legend himself, telling his version of the crazy story, and a couple of other Hokies' reactions to his ordeal against Central Michigan ...

LG GREG NOSAL

ON HIS VERSION OF THE PINKY STORY: “(It was) the last possession of the second quarter. It was the first play. I ended up missing my cut block on the beginning. So that one made Ty scramble. When he was scrambling, I went to crack back on the defensive end and my pinky got caught in his facemask. And I just felt like it was a really bad cut. I went through the whole series and was squeezing my hand, just to apply pressure to it. Then all of a sudden, I looked down and my whole glove is just bloody. And it’s like dripping down my arm.

“As I run off the field, I take my glove off and I look down and I see my bone sticking out. I immediately ran over to (trainer Mike) Goforth. And I was like, ‘Will you guys tape this up?’ And he grabbed my arm and ran me into the locker room. And they Novocain-ed it up. They kept asking me, ‘Do you know where it happened on the field?’ I was like, ‘Why does that matter?’ They were like, ‘Where was it?’ Finally, as we’re walking to the X-ray room, I’m like, ‘Why do they want to know? Did my finger fall off?’ And he’s like, ‘I’ll tell you when you’re laying down.’ I had looked at it [earlier], but I just thought it was a bad cut.”

ON WHY THEY WANTED HIM TO LAY DOWN: “So I didn’t pass out when he said it (that part of the finger was gone). I ended up laying down. I guess they were running back and forth looking for it on the field. I’m in the X-ray room. And I said, ‘It’s probably still in my glove.’ So they ended up dumping it out and finding it. I was still laying down, but I saw them taking the glove and shaking it out.”

ON HOW BIG THE CHUNK OF FINGER TISSUE WAS: “Probably from the beginning of the nail all the way out. The nail was still attached. All the meat around it pulled off.”

ON HIS REACTION TO THE INJURY: “I was more shocked about seeing my bone and the yellow fat in the finger. That’s what got me, and I knew this wasn’t the most normal cut. But the ended up just putting it on ice and wrapping me up to go finish the second half.”

ON ALL THE ATTENTION HE’S GETTING, FROM ESPN, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, ETC.: “I guess it’s a big deal if your pinky got ripped off. My pinkies get jammed every day. I guess I have to cut my pinky off every time just to get some attention.”

ON THE ORIGINAL STORY BEING THAT IT GOT SMASHED BETWEEN TWO HELMETS: “I think it was either mine and his (face mask) or someone else’s. I don’t remember where I hit it; I just remember being in really bad pain.”

ON HOW PAINFUL IT WAS: “Nothing worse than I’ve ever felt. Adrenaline was pumping. But as the game went on, I could feel it pumping, just throbbing. It was a good thing the Novocain helped out.”

ON LAUGHING ON THE SIDELINE AFTERWARD: “I really didn’t think too much of it. I just thought it would be fine after. I mean, it happens. It’s football. No big deal.”

ON WHAT HIS PARENTS, PARTICULARLY HIS MOM, THOUGHT ABOUT HIM PLAYING WITH THAT INJURY: “She was definitely grossed out. She saw me on the sidelines but she thought I just jammed it. After, she was really just grossed out.”

ON HOW MUCH RESPECT HE’S GOTTEN FROM HIS TEAMMATES: “I’ve gotten a few comments that it was pretty impressive. But I didn’t think twice about going back in.”

ON HOW THE BIG WRAPPING (WHICH INCLUDES THE RING FINGER) AFFECTS HIM: “It was kind of a makeshift cast right when I got it, so I’m pretty positive we’ll get one I’ll be able to block with. I could barely get into a stance (against CMU) because I was only using three fingers. We’ll make a better cast for Saturday.”

O-LINE COACH CURT NEWSOME

ON NOSAL’S TOUGHNESS: “He definitely showed some toughness out there. I didn’t know quite how serious it was. I’m just glad I didn’t see it (or he’d have puked). They came over and told me the situation.”

ON WHETHER HE HAD ANY HESITATION PUTTING NOSAL BACK IN THE GAME: “No, because I knew they had given him a couple different scenarios and he knew what was best – and they knew what was best. I would’ve probably put him back in (if nobody told him not to). I was getting my information from them (medical staff) and him.”

ON HOW NOSAL GRADED IN THE GAME: “I want to say he graded 84 percent. You know, he played pretty well in the second half (after the injury).”

ON WHEN THE INJURY HAPPENED: “You can see on the film he kind of grabs his hand. And that was second down. He finished that (series) off. He missed a cut (block) and he got back and was looking for work. You can see him going after someone and (the pinky) getting caught. He looks down. The film cuts off as he’s just kind of looking at his hand.”

ON SENSING THAT IT INSPIRED THE LINE: “I think it just shows how important it is to him. We give a little award each week – the Call of Duty – a guy that’s done something special, tried to be physical. It doesn’t go to the top grader. There was no question who got the award this week.”

ON HIS TEAMMATES’ REACTION: “All the linemen appreciated how important it was to him. We’ve got a lead at the time and for him to go back in there and decide what he wanted to do – to be out there as partners – I think it says a lot about the kid.”

RB DARREN EVANS

ON NOSAL PLAYING THROUGH THE FINGER INJURY: “That’s the ultimate warrior right there. To be missing part of your finger – or any body part at all, no matter how big or small – and come back in the game, that’s tough. I definitely gained a lot of respect for him from that.”

ON THAT SORT OF THING SETTING A TONE FOR THE REST OF THE O-LINE: “It should. It’s going to be real interesting to see how they respond to that. Hopefully he’s the example that the rest of them follow.”

* For instant updates on the Hokies, follow me at twitter.com/kyletuckerVP

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.