he first thing you notice about Chris Williams is his smile, and it's on full display on a warm September morning at Fort Hamilton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) High School.

Chris is in football coach Vince Laino's office discussing the Tigers' victory against South Shore (Brooklyn, N.Y.) over the weekend, a win that meant the players could wear their jerseys to school on Monday. Chris proudly rocks his white and navy No. 77 jersey with his last name emblazoned on the back.

He didn't play against South Shore. In fact, he didn't even suit up. But simply getting to watch a football game these days is special for the hulking senior.

After what happened to him last year, he's lucky to be alive.

On Sept. 29, 2007, Chris had just returned home from football practice when he received a call from his sister that she and her friends were being harassed by a group of young men nearby. Chris went to meet his sister, who upon his arrival told her brother the guys had walked off after they heard her talking to Chris on the phone.

So after making sure his sister and her friends got safely on a bus, Chris went home to his apartment. As he was walking up the steps, an unidentified assailant came up from behind and shot him nine times.

Chris lost 40 percent of his blood, yet somehow survived the brutal attack.

He awoke 11 days later in the hospital to discover his right leg had been amputated below the knee when it couldn't receive any blood flow. He was also paralyzed from the waist down.

His football career was finished before he could even come close to realizing his phenomenal potential.

"I was really loving the sport," Chris says. "And to hear that I couldn't play football again, I cried a lot. It really, really tore me up."

Chris only started playing football as a sophomore and was a reserve offensive tackle that year on the Tigers' PSAL city championship squad. With his 6-foot-6 frame and tremendous athleticism for his size, he seemed a sure bet to be a Division I recruit.

"I've had some really good players here, and he would have been better than them all just because of his physical gifts," says Laino, who's coached the Tigers since 1990.

Though devastated, Chris never gave up thanks to his remarkable willpower and the support of his family and football team. He went through physical therapy twice a week and was home-schooled the rest of last year. By the time this September rolled around, he was able to return to Fort Hamilton.

Now he's into acting and writing poetry, but he's also still involved with football, helping out Laino and his coaching staff. And because of how he's handled everything, he's serving as an inspiration to others.

"He's special," Laino says. "Those traits, those inner strengths that he has now, they were always part of him."

"I can't believe it because what he went through he's so upbeat, and most people would be depressed," adds Chris' mother, Erica. "He's such a positive person."

And why not? He's just happy he's still here to enjoy everything life has to offer, even if it's a life without football.

"This past year has taught me a lot of stuff," he says. "Don't take things for granted, the simple things, everyday things people take for granted, such as just getting up and being able to say good morning to your mother."

Now that's something worth smiling about.

Jon Mahoney covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.