‘The Cart’ out of sight, out of mind for Iowa’s Greenwood

By
Marc.Morehouse
Published: January 4, 2010Posted in: Latest News

greenwoodBrett Greenwood lived every football player’s nightmare, a ride on the cart.

It turned out OK for Iowa’s junior free safety. He suffered a sprained neck Oct. 24 at Michigan State after a helmet-to-helmet collision with teammate, fellow safety and friend Tyler Sash. He moved right away but was kept on the ground and taken off the Spartan Stadium field on a cart — every football player’s nightmare, whether it’s necks, knees or concussions.

“I knew I was fine, but it was more precaution from the trainers and medical staff,” said Greenwood, who started 29 straight games until the neck injury kept him out of the Northwestern game. “The parents and fans might not know that, but they were being cautious and that’s good by them.”

The parents, Michele and Dave, didn’t know.

“They eventually came down to the field. I told them I was fine,” said Greenwood, who picked off three passes this year and finished with seven breakups. “After I told them that, they felt better.”

If you’re going to play football, you simply can’t think about “the cart.”

“It was sort of a freak accident,” said Greenwood, who’s battling a shoulder injury that has kept him in a red “no-contact” jersey. “Luckily, since I was little, I was taught to keep my head up. On that play, I had my head up and that’s what kept it from being a more serious injury.”

Reason for Rafael

No, Iowa center Rafael Eubanks isn’t Latino. His first name does come with a story, though.

His parents, Don Eubanks and Mara Molenaar, agreed to name him Carlos because Don is a huge fan of legendary guitarist Carlos Santana. But plans changed when Rafael was born.

“My mom started to cry and didn’t like the name,” Eubanks said. “She said it reminded her of Spanish class in high school or something. So they went with Rafael instead.”

The fifth-year senior has no Latin blood in his family.

“I think they both kind of agreed on Rafael. I don’t know where that came from,” Eubanks said. “I’m glad they picked that one. I don’t think I would’ve liked Carlos very well.”

‘Praise the Lord’

Iowa defensive end Broderick Binns grew up in a deeply religious family in St. Paul, Minn. His father, Gary, answers the family phone with “Praise the Lord” instead of hello.

“We’re a church family with a church background,” said Binns, who has two brothers and three sisters. “I’ve been going to church my whole life, only missing a couple Sundays because of football.”