This off-season marked a tough time for one of Rutgers' most loyal sons. In early February, former Scarlet Knight standout Ray Lucas checked into Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, a West Palm Beach, Fla., drug rehabilitation center to deal with his addiction to painkillers. It was a struggle, as Lucas nearly left the facility after one week before being convinced to stay and complete treatment.

Now sober and holding a new perspective on life, Lucas made his triumphant return to Rutgers' spring practice this morning.

"It was my first one, its just good to be alive and breathing," said Lucas, who is walking with a cane following knee surgery. "Its always good to come home to Rutgers and see Coach (Schiano) and everybody."

According to Lucas, throughout his time spent in rehab, his Rutgers family kept constant contact and remained solidly in his corner.

"Tim Pernetti was texting me all the time throughout," Lucas said. "See, I have friends here, not acquaintances or business people, these guys are my friends no matter what. You find out who your friends are real quick when things are at their worst and I can honestly say these guys were there for me."

Lucas credits Pain Alternatives, Solutions and Treatment (PAST), a New Jersey-based physicians' group that provides pro bono medical care and behavioral health care to indigent retired athletes, with facilitating his recovery.

Lucas shared his rehab experiences on Facebook and says he went public for the sake of helping others facing similar battles.

"A guy like me from Jersey, we're not supposed to talk about anything," Lucas said. "Any sign or weakness or powerlessness, forget it, it doesn't happen. It wasn't about me. It was about the guys like me at home that are suffering like I was but are afraid to come forward because they think they're alone. These football players, your health is such a high regard. You're tough, you don't show weakness, but in the end everybody's human. They have needs."

Lucas has been closely following the current NFL lockout and is an advocate for ex-players who feel they receive inadequate benefits through the league's disability and retirement plan.

"They don't have insurance. People need to start taking more of a look," Lucas said. "Everyone sees Sundays; nobody sees Mondays. You're talking about a nine billion dollar industry. You're telling me for a 3,000, 3,500 of them you can't write a $20 million check to make sure we're okay. They made their money when I was playing, on my back. I don't care if you're a third-stringer or first-stringer. We're still the best athletes in the world at that sport and we need to be treated accordingly."

After years of struggles with pain and addiction, Lucas harbors no regrets with where his past has brought him.

"I still get really upset that I should have had two discs replaced and I shouldn't have been where I was in Florida, but I didn't have insurance," Lucas admitted. "I had to get through all that stuff just to get to where I'm at today, which I'm not even mad at, because I think I had to go through all that just to be the person I am today."

Lucas is certain that the person he is will be of great appeal to the Rutgers faithful this fall, when he resumes his role as the Scarlet Knights' color commentator for radio broadcasts.

"The fans had crazy and honesty before, so you can imagine what they're going to see this year," Lucas said with a laugh. "It's not hard to work for your home. (Play-by-play man) Chris (Carlin) makes it so easy where all I have to do is offer my opinion on stuff. It probably will be a little bit more entertaining though, so to speak."