UCLA's Scott Glicksberg battles to pack on the pounds
UCLA FOOTBALL
Lineman doesn't enjoy eating and his appetite isn't the same as some of his teammates, so he struggles to keep his weight up.
On this weekend of national gluttony, when second helpings are a holiday tradition, when belts are made for loosening and leftovers beckon, consider the plight of Scott Glicksberg.
A guy who looks at a plate of food and wishes for a little less.
A guy who steps on the scale and hopes for more.
As an offensive lineman for UCLA, Glicksberg has spent this season waging the battle of the bulge in reverse, pointing toward 300 pounds and falling short. The problem is, he explains, "I don't really like to eat."
Everyone knows about players working hard on the field, sweating through drills, hitting the blocking sleds, but college football demands other types of sacrifices. For Glicksberg, that means reshaping a body not quite large enough for his position, and dealing with an illness that changed his outlook on food.
"Sometimes he's just not hungry when normal people are," said Micah Reed, his roommate and fellow lineman.
Not a good thing among the massive people in the trenches.
"He has really good technique," Reed explained. "But he's so light that sometimes he can't help getting thrown around."
With the Bruins facing Arizona State in a key game tonight -- both teams fighting to preserve their slim bowl hopes -- Glicksberg doesn't want to make a big deal about his problem. As a history major, the fifth-year senior realizes there are bigger issues in this world.
If only he could be one of them.
"Instead of thinking I can't eat something because it has too many calories, I'm like 'Oh, it only has this many calories?' " he said. "I mean, I have to eat five of them."
Weight was never a problem in high school, where 285 pounds was plenty big enough.
Shifting to the larger, faster college game at UCLA, Glicksberg intended to bulk up while playing special teams through 2005 and 2006.
But during his sophomore year, he began feeling nauseated, his appetite fading to the point where he could not look at food. Much of what he forced down came right back up.
The doctors ran assorted tests, checking for everything from stress to cancer. Through it all, Glicksberg continued to attend classes and go to practice even though coaches held him out of drills. As offensive line coach Bob Palcic said: "You've got to respect his toughness."
Finally, a specialist put him on medication for a suspected viral infection in his liver and within a few weeks the nausea and vomiting subsided. He was declared healthy but his appetite never fully returned.
