By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @Petepelegrin

For the last two years one wouldn't be at fault if they'd confused FIU running back Napoleon Maxwell for a Home Depot employee.

After all Maxwell has worn an FIU football non-contact orange top – the color associated with the hardware chain's employees – for most of the last two years as he rehabbed a torn ACL knee injury.

However, whenever Maxwell finishes playing football one might be more likely to find him in the psychology business instead of helping out a customer on aisle 12 with a piece of wood.

And ironically enough it was Maxwell's injury that led him to his psychology major.

"When I tore my ACL that's what put me in that major," Maxwell said after Thursday's FIU football practice. "I wanted to talk to people to let them know that you can build yourself even when you are down like I was. When I'm done with football I'd like to go into sports psychology working with athletes or organizational psychology working with businesses."

Maxwell and the Panthers hope the psychology business is way down the road now that the junior running back is 100 percent healthy and ready to help the FIU offense.

Maxwell twice tore his left ACL in the past two years. During camp for his sophomore season in 2015 Maxwell initially tore the knee. The following season after surgery Maxwell said he went too hard trying to come back and tore the knee again in camp. Another surgery followed.

This spring Maxwell was cautious in his return but after a successful spring where he participated in all 15 practices he seems to be back on track.

"I see him being significantly different than he was in the spring time," FIU Coach Butch Davis said. "In the spring I think he was being a little bit careful about the cuts and the plants, jump cuts. What we have seen so far is him trying to explode through holes, take advantage of the speed that he does have. Like any kid that goes through a knee injury they have to get hit. They have to go through that psychological barrier of I'm healthy, I'm over it."

Maxwell, who runs a 4.5, 40-yard dash, burst on the scene for the Panthers in his 2014 freshman season. The St. Petersburg native rushed for 99 yards against Rice in his first college game. Against Old Dominion, Maxwell showcased his speed when he took a screen pass and stormed 57 yards for a touchdown.

Maxwell said the most grueling part of twice rehabbing the same knee was watching from the sidelines.

"The toughest part was coming out here every day in the orange jersey and seeing the guys go hard and not being able to go with them," Maxwell said. "Sitting back watching knowing that you want to be on the field playing with your brothers."

Now Maxwell will get his shot and he's got plenty of admirers for his perseverance.

"I'm very proud of Napoleon because there are a lot of kids, especially at that position that suffered the injuries that he did that probably shut it down," said FIU running backs coach Tim Harris. "The way that he stayed positive to it knowing that he wasn't going to play a down in the last two seasons that was very pleasing to me. That's a testament to what kind of kid he is."