Van hopes to make Jags feel the pain

Travon Van grew up near San Diego, but he's always wanted to be a Florida Gator. He had no idea that he'd have to make a side trip to New Berlin, N.Y., to get there.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Van has played just about every skill position on the football field at some point, rushing for 1,237 yards as a senior at Helix High in La Mesa, Calif. — Reggie Bush's alma mater. But he spent a month in the hospital in the spring with a mysterious ailment that later was discovered to be a kidney infection, missing so much school that he could not qualify to play at a Division I school as a freshman.

So he went to Milford Academy, which counts the Eagles' LeSean McCoy and the Jets' Shonn Greene among its alumni. Milford coach Bill Chaplick said Van fits nicely into that tradition.

"He's one of a long line of great running backs we've had here," said Chaplick, whose team will visit South Alabama at 4 p.m. Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium "He fits that mold."

Van is just happy he's on the field at all. He started having back pain during his senior season of football, only discovering later that what was ailing him wasn't a simple football injury.

"It was really scary," Van said. "I thought I got hit a certain way. I thought it was my back. ... I was just hoping that I could come out healthy."

Doctors were able to treat the kidney infection once it was diagnosed, but it was so debilitating that it took another couple of weeks for Van to feel himself again.

Now he's making Milford's opponents feel the pain, playing running back, receiver, defensive back and even a little quarterback. While he hasn't put up big numbers in every game, he's shown flashes of what he can do, catching four passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opener against ASA Junior College and rushing for 196 yards and one score against Army Prep last month.

Though primarily an offensive player in high school, he's developed a fondness for defense and believes he'll get a look at cornerback as well as running back when he finally gets to Gainesville. He's committed as a member of the Gators' 2010 recruiting class.

"I always wanted to play for Florida, watching Rex Grossman and Chad Jackson growing up," Van said. "I wanted to play for the No. 1 team in the country."