Eric LeGrand SI Cover: Rutgers Star Shines Bright over Scandal-Filled Season

It is impossible to forget Eric LeGrand's story.

The 21-year-old Rutgers player who was paralyzed on the football field last year doesn't need any help being remembered. The hit that took the lower half of his body, BELIEVE 52, his physical therapy and his remarkable work ethic are things that simply cannot be forgotten.

But one picture, one brilliant magazine cover, captured a moment that tells an even bigger story.

Sports Illustrated had fans vote on their favorite images of the year and the winner was to be placed on the cover. The senior Scarlet Knight was up against players like David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals and Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona for the honor.

Good people voted. Celebrities, professional athletes and politicians got involved. Rutgers fans, college football fans and non-fans got involved. Anybody and everybody who heard LeGrand's story couldn't not get involved.

Words don't do the picture justice. It is as good as it gets.

LeGrand ultimately defeated Messi by a good number of votes to earn the cover.

Call it what you will, but Rutgers adopted a single word when it comes to anything Eric LeGrand: Believe.

He's never stopped believing and he's doing incredible things.

The Rutgers community has never stopped believing and they are all behind him.

In a year where the sport was marred by horrendous scandals, heinous crimes and potential criminal offenses, Eric LeGrand's story is a reminder of what is great about college football.

The love and passion for the game. The determination to succeed no matter what. To be there for your teammates even if it is snowing and you're in a motorized wheelchair. These are the things that are remembered. And these are the things that make college football great.

When we look back on the college football season of 2011 it will certainly have a dark mark over it. But you won't have to look far and wide to find its one true shining moment.

It was captured on October 29th, 2011 at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

And it gives us all reason to believe.