This is a story you don't see every day in the world of college football, but you can file it under amazing.

Kyle Tucker of the Virginian-Pilot details the story of Virginia Tech offensive lineman Greg Nosal, who had part of his left pinky finger ripped off during the Hokies' win over Central Michigan.

From Tucker:

Late in the second quarter against Central Michigan, the Hokies' left guard had his left pinky finger smashed between two helmets. Somehow, this collision tore off a chunk of Nosal's finger. "He lost about the last half-inch," Virginia Tech athletic trainer Mike Goforth said. "It was all flesh and fat. The nail and bone were still there. We didn't know where the rest was." Nosal played at least another snap after the initial injury, not knowing how bad it was. When he came to the sideline and took his glove off, "That's when we saw what was gone," Goforth said. "Most of the bleeding had stopped, but you could see the wound – and obviously the wound was pretty alarming. Briefly, the location of Nosal's missing tip was a mystery. Goforth dispatched some of the medical staff to search for the digit out on the field. Soon after, the lump of flesh was found inside Nosal's glove.

Doctors on the sideline gave Nosal the option of sewing the finger back together immediately or putting it on ice and let him continue playing.

You can probably guess which option he picked.

"He wanted to keep playing," Goforth said. So the staff put Nosal's nub on ice – after cleaning it and wrapping it up – and bandaged his finger. They covered the pinky with some hard cast material, too, and gave him something for the pain. He might not have needed much. "It was probably numb," Goforth said. "You sever some nerve endings when you rip off a piece of your finger like that." He said Nosal wasn't screaming on the sideline or writhing in pain. "He was very calm. Almost laughing." ... "It was incredible," Goforth said. "I tell people we do some crazy things and guys we work on are pretty tough, but that one might take the cake. There's certain players that are real tough or real dumb. I'll let you be the judge."

Tucker reports that the re-attachment was a success and that Nosal's finger will look normal again -- though it will take time.

-- Tim Gardner

Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimGardner_USAT