The former standout receiver at Appalachian State had just finished a season with the Indianapolis Colts after signing with the team as a free agent in 2001. He was in the process of making the team for the second straight year when he was playing in an exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans, the second preseason game for the Colts in 2002. It took one play for everything to be turned upside-down. "I was coming across the middle and I was catching a ball from Mark Rypien," Albea said. "It was a regular pattern across the middle. The strong safety was coming up and my leg got stuck in the ground and it didn't give." Albea ended up tearing two ligaments in his knee. He missed the rest of the 2002 season and needed four operations to repair the damage done. Not sure if Albea could return from the injury, the Colts released him in 2003, which he harbors no hard feelings about. "It was one of those injury deals where they were giving me money and not getting what they wanted because I was injured," he said. "It was a business decision. My contract ran out and I was still a free agent." However, while Albea was rehabilitating his knee, he had no takers in the NFL. Eventually, his agent got him a spot on the Ohio Valley Greyhounds' roster. The Greyhounds are an indoor football team playing in the United Indoor League. It's "under the radar," admits Albea. When he was with the Colts, Albea was making $235,000 per year. With the Greyhounds, he makes $250 a game, though most of his living expenses are covered by the team. Still, Wheeling, W. Va., the Greyhounds' home base, is a long way from the glamour of the NFL. Instead of lining up against the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Dallas Cowboys, Albea lines up against Fort Wayne (Ind.) Freedom, the Peoria (Ill.) Rough Riders, the Tennessee Valley Raptors and Tupelo (Miss.) Fireants. "My agent called and said that I had slipped under the radar and with four knee operations, I had to start from the bottom and work my way back up," Albea said. "Basically, he said I had to go out in this league and dominate and it will get you back to where you want to be." To do that, Albea plays running back with the Greyhounds. It's not a position that's all that foreign to Albea since he came to Appalachian State as a transfer from Georgia Military College in 1999 as a running back. Speed was one of Albea's biggest assets both at Appalachian and in Indianapolis. In fact, in Albea's second game as a Mountaineer, he recovered a fumbled kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown against Eastern Kentucky. In 2000, his senior year, Albea finished with 65 receptions, the most since Rick Beasley caught 74 passes in 1979. His 931 yards were the most since Beasley's 1,205, also in 1979 and Albea reached the end zone 10 times. But a knee injury can hamper a runner's speed. Albea said he has regained the speed he had while with the Colts and is anxious to prove it to the NFL. He actually had a tryout scheduled with the Arizona Cardinals, but it had to be postponed because he developed an infection from a cut in his forearm and needed surgery to repair it. Albea joined the Greyhounds' roster midway through the season, which is still ongoing, and scored eight touchdowns in four games. The Greyhounds are 6-6 and in second place in their division. "That's what I wanted to get back to, the 4.3 and the 4.4," Albea said. "I got some good film up here and I'm playing pretty well up here. I have some new film so teams can see me running and that I can still cut and that I have the quickness so they can say, 'He's back.'" Albea also feels that the indoor game has made him a better football player. Since the game is played on a 50-yard field and is much more narrow than a regular field, there is less time to make decisions that are made on a regular field. "It's a much quicker game," he said. "You really don't have time to let the play develop. You have to go on instinct and hit the hole. They've got me playing running back and it's quicker. It will prepare you for the outdoor game." Albea hopes to reschedule his tryout with the Cardinals and he's also received calls from the Giants, Jaguars and from some Canadian teams. Until then, he's content to keep working with the Greyhounds and improving as a player. "I understood the situation before I came here," he said. "I have to get back on film and get healthy before I can play again. That's the whole point as far as me coming into the league. I understood the pay, but it's not about that. I have to get things going and get on film."