Virginia Tech trainer Mike Goforth called it "the talk of the team for a day.''

Hokies redshirt sophomore Chad Cooper, who could barely walk in January while recovering from a life-threatening illness, posted the fastest time of his 40-player group in a stadium run in early June. During the run, the players wore a 23-pound vest and sprinted up the steps of the student section at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg.

Less than six months ago, Hokie coaches and players thought Cooper wouldn't play in a regular season game until 2003. After all, he had a bout with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) - a serious nervous system disorder that causes paralysis - last winter. At one point, he was paralyzed from the waist down, and his body weight eventually dropped down to 160 pounds.

Even Cooper didn't have any high expectations when he began his road back to the football field. He didn't start walking without experiencing fatigue until mid February.

"Realistically, I didn't think I was going to make it back [this year], the way Division I football works and the way your body works,'' he said.

"I thought it would be until next January,'' Goforth said.

But Cooper, pushing himself constantly, went through an aggressive rehabilitation program, hit the weight room hard and ``ate nonstop.'' He's now at 224 pounds.

Most importantly, he'll be dressed out in a Maroon uniform when the Hokies host Arkansas State on Aug. 25 in their season opener.

"It feels surreal,'' Cooper said. "It's an unexpected feeling, but a great one.

"I'm just happy to be back, to tell you the truth. Once I get on the field, I'll have high expectations for myself.''

Cooper's coaches and teammates remain amazed.

"For him to make this comeback like this is remarkable,'' Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said.

"I thought he'd get back to where he was, but not this soon,'' Goforth said. "I've never seen anything like this, our physicians haven't seen anything like this.''

Last season, Cooper made an impact on special teams, starting on the kickoff team, and the kickoff and punt return teams. He was listed as an inside linebacker. Cooper didn't play on defense, but Foster thought he was one of the team's most improved players and could challenge for a starting position the following year. But GBS struck Cooper in late November, ending his season.

From that point on, teammates Blake Warren (Centreville) and James Anderson made strides at Cooper's listed position. So Foster moved Cooper to ``mike'' - or middle - linebacker. Cooper is third on the depth chart at that position behind redshirt sophomore Mikal Baaque (DeMatha High) and senior Alex Markogiannakis, the 1997 Journal Defensive Player of the Year.

"We're young at the linebacker position,'' Cooper said. "If I made it back, I knew I would get the opportunity. Now I have to take advantage of that and get it done on the field.''

Cooper has battled severe shin splints - a result of GBS, he says - and hasn't practiced the past two days. Foster said Cooper must gain strength and repetitions at his new position, and get him to the point where "he's not thinking just playing.''

"He's on track to being a heck of a solid football player,'' Foster said.

Cooper says he wants to move up on the depth chart, playing a sport he thought was everything to him before GBS almost took it - and his life - away.

Even though he continues pushing himself, his bout with GBS gave him a different perspective on life. Cooper has the goal of reaching the NFL, but he's spent much time considering the "endless options'' the world of business provides. He wouldn't mind being an entrepreneur and running his own business.

"Last year, I'm thinking football was everything,'' Cooper said. "I wasn't thinking what would happen if football just stopped. Now, I have a more overall plan.''