Ex-Chief Jonik's gridiron career has
been nothing short of remarkable

  Lesser men than Ryan Jonik would have quit playing football a long time ago, deflated by a series of Goliath-sized obstacles that have a way of building your character while testing your faith.
  But as some of the finest defensive linemen around have discovered the past five years, there is no quit in Jonik, who is ready to embark on his final season as an offensive tackle at Wayne State University.

  One January day in 2008, while recovering from a broken fibula he suffered the previous fall against Grand Valley State University, the former Canton gridiron standout felt discomfort in his chest.
  "My doctor said, Let's get you in and get it scanned,'" recalled Jonik. "It turned out I was suffering from a pulmonary embolism. A blood clot had moved up my leg and toward my heart. There's always the potential for something like this happening whenever you have major surgery.
  "I was close to dying."
CLOSE CALL
  Jonik spent the next six days in the hospital. The clot was dissolved and he was eventually given a clean bill of health, but the near-tragedy -- coupled with the painstakingly slow recovery from the broken leg -- took a toll on his mind.
  "It took the wind out of my sails for a while," he said. "My mom was there the whole time, encouraging me and telling me things were going to get better. And I talked to (Canton football) coach (Tim) Baechler, who gave me some great advice that helped me get through it."
  As the start of Jonik's junior season drew closer, self-doubts about his future in football surfaced.
  "The first two days of spring ball I was absolutely terrible," he said. "I told the coach I was going to sit out spring ball to let my leg heal more. Plus, I was on the blood-thinners because of the pulmonary embolism, so I had to avoid contact. I had lost a lot of my speed and my strength because I had missed so many workouts. I was back to square one.
  "When camp started the next August, I figured I was going to go into the season as a back-up. But I got better every day and ended up starting at right tackle. I learned that I had to make up for my loss of speed and agility with my vision."
BANNER YEAR
  Jonik enjoyed a spectacular junior season, earning Honorable Mention All-GLIAC honors. He also continued to thrive in his pursuit of a pre-med degree.
  "Going through what I did, I gained a whole new perspective on life," he said. "I look at things differently than I did before all of my health problems."
  Jonik is an inspiration for every high school athlete who has ever rode the bench during his or her junior year. In the fall of 2004, he rarely saw the field for Canton's football team.
  "I played a little defensive tackle, but not much," he said.  "It was frustrating at times because I was really working hard and, although I knew the guys in front of me were working their tails off, too, I'd think to myself, 'Am I just not good enough to play this game?'"
  He proved he was more than good enough his senior season when he earned several awards while helping lead the Chiefs to the Division 1 title game at Ford Field.
  "That was one of the best years of my life," he said. "Nothing but great memories."
  Jonik, who is on course to graduate with a pre-med degree in the winter of 2010, isn't sure what branch of medicine he wants to pursue.
  "My uncle, who's a doctor, told me I won't know exactly what I want to do until I start doing rotations in med school," said Jonik. "My orthopedic surgeon, Marc Milia (a former football player at the University of Michigan) has worked with me a lot and I've actually been able to observe some of his surgeries. He thinks I'd make a good orthopedic surgeon, so that's something I'm definitely going to consider."
REBUILDING PROJECT
  Jonik takes pride in the fact that he's been a part of a football renaissance at Wayne State, which has risen from perennial GLIAC also-rans to a near-playoffs-making 8-3 record last year.
  "My freshman year, this place felt a lot like it must have been like at Canton in 1998, right before they got good," he said. "Our weight-lifting room wasn't great, but it got the job done.
  "It's been fun to be a part of a rebuilding process. Hopefully, this season we can reach our goal and make the playoffs."

  Ed Wright can be contacted at [email protected] or (734) 578-2767.

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