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It is a tale that has finally taken a turn for the better, and Matt Patchan just enjoys being able to go out and play football again.

It's taken plenty of time to get here.

He injured his shoulder in the fourth game of his senior season at Seffner Armwood High.

Rather than scrap the rest of the season, cortisone shots allowed the nation's fifth-best offensive lineman, according to Rivals.com, to continue playing.

That wasn't his last obstacle, however.

A bout of mononucleosis near the end of the season left Patchan at 230 pounds as he fought to help his team to a state semifinal appearance.

After enrolling early at UF, the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder - for now, he says - underwent rotator cuff surgery.

The lost weight led Gators coaches to move him over to the defensive line, although they've left open the possibility of him moving back to the offensive side of the ball.

Where would he rather play?

"On the field," Patchan said with a laugh.

Coach Urban Meyer already plans on that.

"Patchan's going to play," Meyer said. "To think that he's doing what he's doing and has not had an off-season because he's been hurt, that tells you what kind of player he is."

Defensive line coach Dan McCarney, a high-energy man himself, enjoys what he's getting from someone who's battled so much and continues to do so.

"We're talking about a kid who should still be getting ready for the prom right now, and he's out here going up against future NFL offensive linemen," McCarney said Monday. "There's no question he'll play (this season). There might be a possibility he'll be starting in that first game. We've got a lot of time to evaluate yet, but he's shown me enough that there's no question he'll have a major role on our defense."

Patchan's energy and passion - "I'd say all the time when I was getting recruited I was going to give the most effort, and I believe I can and will," he says - has gotten him high favor from Meyer, who wasn't pleased with his defensive line's intensity in 2007.

"Last year we had to move a backup offensive center [Mike Pouncey] to get energy from our defensive line," Meyer said. "Shouldn't have to do it. That tells you how bad we were at that position. … Patchan's bringing a lot of that to the table."

That energy translates into a sense of humor off the field when he gives a recommendation to teammates that want to criticize his overflowing hair and beard.

"You know what, if they've got something to say, they'll say it to my face. They won't say it behind my back," Patchan said with a smile.