"Imagine how good Willis McGahee could have been had he not suffered one the most gruesome knee injuries a football fan has ever seen.

Given he has had three NFL seasons of at least 1,100 yards rushing after the injury, is it possible McGahee might well have been one of the best backs ever?

It's not a stretch to say that instead of running behind Know-shon Moreno in the Broncos' backfield, McGahee might already have been churning his way toward the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"Who says I can't make the Hall of Fame?" a smiling McGahee said before heading out to the practice field recently.

Supreme confidence is about the only way to explain how McGahee still is an NFL running back 8 1/2 years after suffering

the injury in the BCS national championship game that threatened to end his professional career before it started. Confidence and commitment."