No squealing allowed for tight end

Tim Calhoun can’t stand to lose, even at tiddlywinks.

Or showing pigs.

Yes, showing pigs.

Following the family tradition, Calhoun was in 4-H and showed pigs, a hobby not many teammates on the Eastern Washington University football team can relate to.

But Calhoun took that just as seriously as he did every sport he played at Zillah High School, where he was all-state in football, basketball and baseball as a senior.

“He was always very competitive at anything he tried,” said his father, Steve. “When it came to showing, when it’s not just the pig it’s the person showing the animal, he was always pretty competitive.”

Imagine a 6-foot-4 farm boy jockeying for position in front of the judges. Linebackers have it easier.

“I hate losing at anything,” said Calhoun. “I hate losing at tiddlywinks. When you get out there, the people you’re showing against, we would all fight to have our pig in the best position, present the best way you could to the judge.”

That fire served him well when he arrived at Eastern as a 230-pound tight end. He quickly established himself as one of senior quarterback Josh Blankenship’s favorite targets, catching 31 balls for 378 yards and five touchdowns, earning All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention recognition.

He hasn’t caught an official pass since.

There were complications after surgery to clean up bone chips in his right ankle, leading to two more surgeries and sitting out the 2003 season. Overlapping that was a “freak” weightlifting accident. A broken bone in his left wrist forced another surgery and another lost season.

But he will suit up when the Eagles wrap up spring practice on Saturday, the 2 p.m. Red and White game at Woodward Field.

What a long, difficult trip it’s been.

“After he had his first injury, and then when he broke his wrist, I think it was like the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said his mother, Nancy. “For him it seemed at that point it was one of the lowest moments ever.”

Eastern coaches were worried.

“I could see the frustration in his face and hear it in his voice, the disappointment, even some depression,” tight ends coach Rich Rasmussen said. “He really questioned whether he would ever play again.”

Quitting, however, wasn’t an option as long as Calhoun had a chance to play.

“There have been times I thought of throwing in the towel but I have some unfinished (team and personal) goals,” he said. “I’ve never quit anything I’ve started and didn’t want this to be the first thing I quit.”

There was never any self pity. It’s not the Calhoun way.

“My heart aches for them when they’re injured but this mom says rest it, treat it right, work it up and you go again,” Nancy Calhoun said. “This mother says I sure would love to see you on the field again. There is nothing more fun for me than watching him on the field. If he can’t, I understand, but if you can play again, this momma will be there.”

There wasn’t much else she could do. With five of the seven Calhoun children still at the 80-acre family fruit farm near Wapato, there were other obligations.

Besides, the life-long football fan who married her high school sweetheart from Wapato understood the situation. Her husband played in junior college and at Portland State and her brother had a little success himself. Her brother is Dan Doornink, the former Washington State and Seahawks running back.

“There was no whining, my focus always was God hasn’t made a mistake here, God has a purpose. We might not know what that is exactly, but God doesn’t make a mistake,” Nancy Calhoun said.

Uncle Dan also helped.

“I offered advice probably more than he asked me for advice,” said Doornink, an internal medicine doctor in Yakima. “I’m sure he’s tired of Uncle Dan stories. I just tried to offer my encouragement. Sometimes there is good in things that happen, too. I’m a Christian folk, I believe in God’s plan. You just have to play the hand you’re dealt. That’s an old (Seahawks coach) Chuck Knoxism.”

Doornink helped in other ways as well.

“Sometimes it’s nice to have a doc in the family, they can get you into the other doctors a lot faster,” Tim said. “He would get good quality doctors to look at my injuries.”

Eventually the ankle and wrist healed enough so Calhoun could consider playing again and his passion returned.

“His dad and I were extremely confident once he got on the field he would become comfortable with it again,” Rasmussen said. “He just needed to get hit and realize that everything was going to be OK.”

With last year’s starting tight end graduating and the backup deciding not to play any more, Calhoun’s return is key.

“We knew right away he was very good,” Wulff said. “It’s hard to tell how good he can be, he only played with us for four months. When we signed him we thought a lot of people missed on him and he proved it. He has a knack for the position.”

Calhoun was back in uniform four weeks ago when spring practice started.

“The first week answered it for me and him,” Wulff said. “All along we thought he could come back, he didn’t get hurt playing football (but) he taught a lot of guys how fragile the game can be.”

Rasmussen added, “The first day in pads he really showed signs of being the old Tim Calhoun, just the attitude he brings, the toughness. I didn’t have any concerns about him running routes but I thought it would take time for the run-blocking technique to come back. He answered those questions the first day he got back.”

Calhoun caught two passes in the first scrimmage then tweaked his left hamstring, limiting his participation.

“My thought on the hamstring, that’s not all bad,” Doornink said. “He got out there, got to see he could do it. The hamstring sort of put the governor on him a little bit so he’s not doing anything too wild too soon. He’s got all summer to get it right so I’m not thinking it’s too bad of thing.”

Calhoun might see a series or two on Saturday, according to Rasmussen.

“I told him, ‘You need to get hit in the face again,’ ” the coach said. “He said, `I ain’t gettin’ hit by nobody, I’m jackin’ somebody.’ Even though he pulled his hamstring, he’s back to being confident, you can see it just the way he carries himself, he’s smiling. He understands he didn’t get hurt playing football.”

Calhoun, a recreation management major, is taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“My goal now is just to play season-by-season. You never know when your time is up so you just have to go hard all the time until you can’t play any more.”