Saddle Up, Charlie: Charlie Wysocki's Journey From Gridiron Glory Into Mental Illness

Saddle-up, Charlie.” With those words University of Maryland football coach Jerry Claiborne nudged Charlie Wysocki toward the playing field. Charlie knew what was expected. He would take the hand-off from quarterback Boomer Esiason and rush toward the slice of daylight created by his offensive line, over and over again until he reached the end zone.

With each punishing foray into enemy territory, Charlie put a greater distance between himself and the lost boy named Charlie DeGraffenreid. Ev...