SLIPPERY ROCK — Kent Uber had no idea what was wrong with him.

Just over a year into his Mormon mission in Ventura, Calif., Uber, who was a strong and healthy 255 pounds when he played defensive tackle during his senior year at Grove City High, began a puzzling stretch of weight loss.

He lost strength, too, and severe headaches incapacitated him.

"I actually passed out a couple of times," Uber said.

Uber was unable to finish his mission. After 15 months, he came home to Grove City. Tests revealed he had pseudotumor cerebri — a condition that mirrors a brain tumor but is caused by an excess buildup of fluid around the brain.

Uber is still recovering and dealing with the disorder. He's down to his playing weight during his freshman season at Grove City, yet is still hopeful to play college football one day.

"(The doctors) are still not sure what is going on," Uber said. "They think it was caused by a virus."

Uber is slowly regaining his strength. He spends some of his afternoons running around the track at Grove City High's Forker Field.

"It was nice to see him running around the track down here last Friday," said Jeff Bell, who coached Uber atGrove City. "It would be nice to get him back playing football again."

But Uber, who just turned 21, is still part of the game he loves. This summer, he got a job as an assistant football coach at Slippery Rock Highunder Clyde Conti, Grove City's biggest rival.

When the Eagles and the Rockets square off at 7 p.m. Friday, Uber will find himself on the "enemy" sideline.

"I never thought I would be coaching at Slippery Rock," Uber said. "I always wanted to coach, but I always thought I would be doing it with Jeff."

Bell is entering his 11th season at Grove City, but has never had a former player return to coach against him.

"Most of the guys I scare out of coaching," Bell quipped.

To further add to the spice of the yearly Slippery Rock-Grove City tilt is that Uber's younger brother, Alec, is a junior wide receiver and defensive back for the Eagles.

That has made the Uber household an interesting one this week.

"I joke with him, but I try to stay away from that," Kent Uber said. "It's all in good fun."

Bell said he already can see Uber's influence on Slippery Rock by watching video of the Rockets' two scrimmages.

"I see some changes there," Bell said. "I see some of the things we did when Kent was here on film. He's very smart and he's going to be a big help to them. I just hope he's not giving away too many of our trade secrets."

Uber, a student at Grove City College, is having a difficult time watching the Wolverines practice on the nearby college campus.

It pains him that he doesn't have the strength to return to the field yet, but Uber hasn't given up hope that he will play again.

"I see them practicing out there, and I think 'I could be out there with them,'" Uber said. "But things happen and you move on. I got a good opportunity at Slippery Rock to coach. I'm going to make the most of that."