Nov 26, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Shawn Cayley

QUEBEC CITY -- Erik Glavic has had quite the rollercoaster ride over the past two years.

Glavic, a 23-year-old Pickering native, will start at quarterback for University of Calgary Dinos Saturday afternoon in the 2009 Vanier Cup against the Queen's University Golden Gaels, but it wasn't long ago that his football playing future was in serious doubt.

The stage was the 2007 Uteck Bowl against Laval, and Glavic, then pivot of the St. Mary's Huskies, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, ending his season one game before the national championship. A couple months later, Glavic underwent surgery to repair the injury, followed by months of rigorous rehab as the nation's top CIS football player tried to regain his form.

Not so fast.

"I had surgery in January of 2008 and I tried to play in, I guess it was late September (for St. Mary's) but I got hurt again," Glavic recalls. "It just wasn't ready. It wasn't good to go. That point was a real low point in my life. I wasn't sure if I was going to play football ever again."

Refusing to accept that as the end to his CIS career, Glavic transferred to Calgary to rejoin coach Blake Nill, who had recruited the now 6-foot-1 signal caller out of Pickering's St. Mary Secondary School. More rehab followed his transfer and Glavic put everything he could into getting in shape and rebuilding the strength in his ailing knee for this season.

"I knew that I had to work the hardest that I ever have had to work to make sure that I had a chance," he says. "If it didn't work out ,I could at least say that I tried."

The hard work is now paying off.

Tonight, the CIS football awards will be handed out as part of the Desjardins Vanier Cup festivities and Glavic will look to become the first player ever to capture the Hec Crighton with two different schools after posting 2,186 yards passing and 14 touchdowns and another 503 yards rushing in the regular season, en route to a Canada West championship.

However, his competition for the award is stiff.

Quarterback Michael Faulds of Western Ontario (CIS record 3,033 passing yards, 15TDs), Mount Allison receiver/kick returner Gary Ross (1,365 all purpose yards) and Laval quarterback Benoit Groulx (1,462 yards, 18 TDs) were also nominated.

But only one of the nominated players was able to lead his team to the Vanier Cup, that being Glavic. For him, it signifies reaching the light at the end of the tunnel following all the rehab.

"It's been a tough long road but it's good to see the hard work paying off not only for myself but for the whole team," he said.

Saturday's championship game will be televised on TSN at 12 p.m.