Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The feeling returned for Chris Nickson sometime around the early minutes of the second quarter last Thursday.
All it once, it sort of hit him.
He was back as Vanderbilt's starting quarterback, back to running the show with confidence and precision - and above all else - back to feeling spry and healthy.
"It had been a while since I felt like that in a game," Nickson said. "It was kind of awkward, really. I still didn't feel like myself until about midway through the second quarter after I made a couple of big plays.
"Things started coming back, and it felt like I was a kid again playing football. It was fun, and I felt young and didn't think about last year or any of the injuries I've had. None of that was on my mind. The only thing on my mind was leading my team to a victory."
Nickson, who battled Mackenzi Adams all preseason for the starting job, looked like his old, healthy self in the Commodores' season-opening 34-13 win at Miami (Ohio). Nickson ran for a career-high 166 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and also threw a touchdown pass.
It was reminiscent of his 2006 season when he racked up 2,779 yards of total offense, the third most ever for a Vanderbilt player. But last season, Nickson was plagued by injuries, namely a separated shoulder, and lost his confidence and then his job to Adams.
"When he's healthy, he's exactly what we're looking for in our offense," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "With what we do on offense, we're always going to run the quarterback some."
Of course, the next question becomes: Can Nickson continue to carry it 20 times a game against an SEC defense and stay in one piece?
The team he's going to face Thursday night (ESPN, 8:30 ET) doesn't seem to think so.
South Carolina is coming off a 34-0 shutout of North Carolina State and appears to be much improved under first-year defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson.
"The quarterback can keep running the ball, but if you have Emanuel Cook and Jasper Brinkley and Eric Norwood tackling him, he ain't going to run the ball often anymore," South Carolina cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said. "He's going to tell his coach, 'Hey, coach, they're hitting me out there.'
"So with all 11 getting to the ball, we should stop him."
Nickson admits that "taking SEC hits" every week is a whole different animal. But if his running the ball 20 times a game gives the Commodores the best chance to win, so be it.
He didn't play at all last season in the 17-6 win over South Carolina, but Adams - who's not nearly as dangerous running the ball as Nickson - managed 84 yards on the ground against the Gamecocks.
So rest assured that Nickson will take his shots against the South Carolina defense ... and vice versa.
"When I'm healthy and playing my game, I definitely think the team rallies around me," said the 6-1, 212-pound Nickson, whose 59-yard run in the second quarter last week took most of the remaining fight out of Miami (Ohio).
"If I'm playing well and going good, there's no telling how far this team can go. I'm very fortunate to be back, and it's just fun to be playing again."
Nickson even got a shout-out from one of his old teammates in the postgame of Alabama's 34-10 win over Clemson on Saturday night. Tight end Nick Walker, who led the Crimson Tide with seven catches, remarked that Nickson was the guy throwing him the ball the last time he caught that many passes in a game. They were teammates on Pike County High School's 2003 3A state championship team in Brundidge, Ala.
"He better not have forgotten," Nickson joked.
Chris Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.
