Brandon Mays Class: Senior Hometown: Arden, N.C. High School: T.C. Roberson H.S. Height / Weight: 5-11 / 200 Position: TB Experience: 3L

Furman: Qualifies as a medical miracle in the sport of football, especially when considering he battled back to become the Paladins' starting tailback in 2004 after being stricken with ulcerative colitis, a life-threatening inflamatory disease of the colon, early in the 2002 season and subsequently spent several weeks in Greenville's St. Francis Hospital, where he dropped from 190 pounds to 140 while battling the illness...underwent three surgeries beginning in October of 2002 and had all but six inches of his large intenstine removed, replaced by a colostomy bag and later a reconstructed digestive system...could not participate in 2003 spring practice but was soon thereafter cleared to attempt football comeback, which he completed in the fall of 2003 by seeing action in 11 games -- all as a reserve...further solidified his miracle return by taking over the starting tailback job last year...has clearly been an inspiration to his teammates, coaching staff, and the sport of football in general for his courageous comeback, which has been profiled in features by The Greenville News, The State, The Hendersonvillle Times-News, and the Associated Press...despite medical challenge, steadily regained strength over the past two years to maintain his status as one of the strongest players, pound-for-pound, in the program...ranks as the most consistent of Furman's three returning tailbacks...is also a solid receiver out of the backfield. 2004 -- Served as Furman's starting tailback in all 13 games, rushing for 682 yards and five touchdowns while helping the Paladins to a 10-3 record, Southern Conference championship, and NCAA I-AA No. 5 final national ranking...rushing total ranked second on the squad to Cedrick Gipson (745 yards) and ninth in the SoCon...rushed14 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown against Presbyterian (52-7 win) in his first collegiate start since returning from illness...rushed 10 times for 96 yards, including a season long 50-yard bolt, in 51-31 SoCon title clinching victory over Chattanooga...ran for 88 yards and caught and hooked with quarterback Ingle Martin for a 8-yard touchdown catch against Gardner-Webb (38-6 win)...ripped off runs of 13 and 7 yards on Furman's game winning 7-play, 8-yard drive against Georgia Southern (29-22 win)...ran for 68 yards and a touchdown and collected a season best three receptions for 27 yards in 31-24 win over Wofford...had a 34-yard bolt as part of a 69-yard performance against The Citadel (33-14 win)...took home Furman's C. Johnson Moore Hustle Award following the season. 2003 -- Completed comeback from three major surgeries after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis early in the 2002 campaign...illness and subsequent recovery kept him off the football field until 2003 preseason practice...registered his first action in the Paladins' season opening 24-7 win over Elon, rushing 11 times for 49 yards and catching one pass for nine yards...proceeded to see action in all 11 games...ran six times for a season high 62 yards and a touchdown versus Chattanooga (63-21 win) ...scoring run versus UTC covered 22 yards...also tallied three tackles on special teams. 2002 -- Saw action in first four games before being sidelined in late September with ulcerative colitis...prior to illness had rushed for team leading 88 yards on 15 carries in 57-7 win over Elon...last action came versus VMI (55-28 win) with three rushes for eight yards...underwent the first of three surgeries in October and subsequent procedures in February and May. 2001 -- Member of scout team...awarded redshirt and extra year of eligibility.

High School: 2001 graduate of T.C. Roberson High School...football coach was Jerry Wilkins...high school teammate of Paladin fullback Justin Perdue and linebacker Josh Slagle...played tailback and free safety...earned all-region, all-county, conference player-of-the-year, and Asheville Citizen-Times Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors after rushing for 1,961 yards and 20 touchdowns during the 2000 season...team went 7-5, beat Reynolds, Owen, and Asheville, and advanced into the second round of the state AAA playoffs for first time in school history...set eight school records...selected to play in North Carolina East-West All-Star Game...reaped all-conference and all-county accolades as a junior after totaling 1,520 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns...in all rushed for 4,406 yards and 50 touchdowns during his career.

Personal: Full name is Brandon Kingsley Mays...son of Bobbette and Herschel Mays...born February 24, 1983, in Los Angeles, California...health and exercise science major.