It only seems like forever since Terrell Davis, Garrison Hearst and Robert Edwards combined for 4,693 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns in 1998, a campaign in which at least one of those former University of Georgia tailbacks ran for over 100 yards in 16 of 17 regular-season weekends.

What has transpired since that season of aggregate excellence, of course, is two years of shared misery, a gut-wrenching period made to seem even longer by the three players' inactivity, and a stretch during which the Bulldogs alums spent more time comparing surgical scars and horror stories than any of them did carrying the football.

	Robert Edwards lies in the sand after suffering a knee injury during a beach football game following the 1998 season.

But with NFL training camps about to open this week, each of the tailbacks seems poised to turn two years of rehabilitation into a 2001 season of redemption. Also ready to resume his career is another former Georgia back, Olandis Gary, who started in place of Davis in 1999 and then was relegated to the sideline by a knee injury last season.

Suddenly the dogged days of rehabilitation could morph again into Dawg Days filled with long touchdown runs.

At a Denver Broncos mini-camp last month, Davis appeared to have recovered from the knee and leg injuries that limited him to just 493 yards over the last two years and Gary moved well. Five months removed from a third operation to flush out some bone fragments from an ankle ravaged by avascular necrosis, Hearst will report to camp atop the San Francisco depth chart. And the scrappy Edwards, whose return to the New England training camp in any semblance of shape is testimony to the human spirit, has at least an outside chance to regain his career.

Joined at the hip-pads by their place in an impressive lineage of former Georgia runners, the four lead an unusually large contingent of veterans who will return to the field in 2001 after missing at least half of the 2000 season. More than four dozen players leaguewide were sidelined by injuries for eight or more games last year and, for many of them, successful rehabilitations could be a key to the fortunes of their respective teams.

Among that group is a subset of tailbacks that also includes Duce Staley of Philadelphia, Dorsey Levens of Green Bay and Cleveland's Errict Rhett.

"It's not so unusual to have that many (running backs) coming off injuries, because the position is one, let's face it, where guys get hurt," said former San Francisco and Washington personnel chief Vinny Cerrato. "But to have so many big-name runners, players whose physical status will affect the performance of their teams, that is out of the ordinary. And when you consider what Edwards and Hearst are trying to do especially, coming back after everyone figured they would never play again, that just adds to it. I mean, those are two pretty incredible stories there, you know?"

Indeed, eight different men have posted 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the history of the Denver Broncos, including Gary and Mike Anderson as rookies in 1999 and 2000, respectively. But just one of those players, Davis, led the Broncos to a Super Bowl title. The return of Staley, whose surgically repaired foot held up well in all of the mini-camps, could make emerging Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb even better than in 2000, when he was runner-up for offensive most valuable player honors, and catapult the young Eagles to the next level of excellence.

Conversely, neither Hearst nor Edwards figures to escort his team into the playoffs in 2001, but that hardly diminishes the compelling nature of their inspirational comebacks. Both suffered what could only be described as catastrophic injuries and both could be in the lineup when the regular seasons begins.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick used the term "miracle" to describe Edwards' efforts this spring and counterpart Steve Mariucci of San Francisco chose that same word in discussing a possibility that Hearst's career could be resurrected after two years of diligent rehabilitation.

"Just to have come this far when people said I might not even walk very well again, it's a pretty gratifying thing," said Edwards, who tore three of four knee ligaments and sustained severe nerve damage in a grotesque injury that occurred during a flag football game that was part of the '99 Pro Bowl festivities. "I've beaten the odds simply being cleared (for training camp). There's no reason I can't make it all the way back."

Publicly supportive of Edwards, there are some New England coaches and officials who privately concede his two-year hiatus has robbed him of some quickness. And when New England reports to camp on July 26, there will be at least three players ahead of Edwards at the tailback spot. Not so for Hearst, who optimistically has been penciled in as the starter for a 49ers teams that lost two-time 1,000-yard runner Charlie Garner to Oakland in free agency.

Not since a Jan. 9, 1999 playoff loss at Atlanta, when he fractured his left ankle on the first play of the contest, has Hearst suited up for a game. During his initial rehabilitation, doctors found that he also suffered from avascular necrosis, a condition in which insufficient circulation causes the affected bone to deteriorate, and the same ailment that prematurely ended the career of Raiders running back Bo Jackson. More than 30 months and three surgeries later, Hearst demonstrated some burst at mini-camp last month and, most important, was pain free.

Given the size of his contract, and his notorious thrift, Hearst could easily have limped away from the game and lived comfortably. His determination, though, would not allow surrender. While the 49ers likely remain another season from being truly competitive, the return of Hearst on the field and in the locker room certainly could accelerate the process.

"It would be," Mariucci said, "not just a giant step for (Hearst), but for this entire team."

The statistics indicate that it is difficult to advance to the playoffs without a true "feature"-type runner, and so the returns of all the tailbacks who were injured in 2000 could significantly impact the events of the coming season.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.