Playing Again Is Special for USC Center : College football: Apolskis has come back to the team after having chemotherapy treatments for testicular cancer.

David Apolskis walked slowly off the field at UC Irvine on Wednesday morning, sweat pouring down his forehead, after the USC football team completed its first practice of the summer in full gear.

Blinking to clear his eyes, he dragged his helmet and shoulder pads behind him, tired and sore after a two-hour workout.

But a smile lit his face.

Uncomfortable as he might have felt, with another workout in the afternoon and hours of meetings to come, Apolskis knew that nothing he might face in practice would compare to what he confronted last August.

When USC opened camp last summer, Apolskis was still getting used to the knowledge that he was suffering from testicular cancer.

Recovering from surgery to remove a testicle, he knew that he faced a second procedure to remove cancerous abdominal lymph nodes, several weeks of chemotherapy treatments and months of uncertainty.

So, the grind of football camp this August is hardly fazing him.

“I feel great,” he said.

Apolskis has been cleared by his doctors to attempt a comeback, and all indications are that it will be successful.

A starter as a second-year freshman during the Trojans’ first six games in 1990, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound junior is listed as No. 2 center on the depth chart behind Craig Gibson.

“He’s competing for the starting position,” said Bob Palcic, who is beginning his first season as coach of the Trojans’ offensive guards and centers. “He’s going to see a lot of playing time.

“Whenever you lay off for a year, you’re going to be a little rusty, but I can certainly see that he has the potential to be an excellent player.”

Apolskis wasn’t so sure after his first day back in pads.

“It was a little crazy,” he said. “Everything was a lot faster than I thought it was going to be. I wasn’t hesitant, but it did sting a little bit (to be hit again). I think I came out all right. It’s going to be a long way back. It’s going to take awhile.

“There were times when I’d get beat and I’d say, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But then I’d realize that I’m just starting back. Everybody’s ragged. It’s not like I’m way behind everybody else.

“It’s just that I’m way behind my own expectations.”

Even when his hair fell out while he underwent chemotherapy treatments last fall, Apolskis remained upbeat and optimistic, telling himself and others that he would play football at USC again. Eventually, he shaved his head, unveiling himself as Uncle Fester at a Halloween party.

“That’s just the way I am,” he said. “I’m upbeat about everything. But it bothered me. I’m not going to say it didn’t. It scared me. I was in fear. But the only way to deal with it was to carry on, do normal things.”

Apolskis said that after he revealed his condition to reporters in a meeting last September, he received several hundred letters from around the country, many from others who had overcome testicular cancer.

He learned that it was not as uncommon as he had thought.

“So many have the same thing,” said Apolskis, who was recruited by USC out of St. Thomas High in Houston. “Four people in my neighborhood--within a two-mile proximity--had the same thing.

“It let me know that I wasn’t alone (against) this. Other people have made it back. It’s not as bad as it seems. You can beat it.”

Although he lost about 30 pounds during his ordeal, Apolskis has regained most of the weight--while redistributing it for the better, he said.

“I’m probably quicker than I was before,” he said.

It won’t be enough for him just to be back in a uniform.

“I’d like to play a lot,” he said. “They need me to play a lot, and I want to. I’m sure when I get back into the flow of things, I’ll be able to (succeed). We have a lot of good (offensive linemen), but I know that I can be just as good or better than a lot of them.”