Every night when he is done with football, Georgia Tech center Freddie Burden heads a few miles up the road to the hospital.

He follows the same routine, goes up to the same floor, to the same room. There, his father waits for a heart that is taking way too long to come.

Willie Burden, 64, has needed a transplant for nearly seven months, after protein buildup in his heart became too much for him to endure. He checked in to the hospital on Feb. 16 and has yet to leave.

"He always tells me every time I visit, 'You're fighting; I'm fighting,'" Freddie Burden said recently. "He wants me to focus on football even though I'm concentrating on him as well. But he's done a good job keeping his spirits up. We just keep hanging in there, and reading the Bible and always having faith."

Willie Burden usually gets his way. His football career says as much. Burden starred as a running back at NC State in the early 1970s. In 1973, he won ACC Player of the Year honors after leading the league with 1,014 yards rushing, helping the Wolfpack win the conference title.

Though he got cut from the Detroit Lions the following year, Willie Burden went on to have a Hall of Fame career in the CFL and had his No. 10 jersey retired in Calgary. In 2009, he was named an ACC Legend.

From left: Velma, Willie Jr., Willie Sr. and Freddie Burden. Courtesy of the Burdens

Freddie, his brother and sister knew all about their dad's football career from an early age. Freddie remembers all the NC State gear around his house. His mom, Velma, still has pictures of Freddie and Willie on the floor with helmets on, playing.

It seemed almost a forgone conclusion that Freddie and brother Willie Jr., would stick with football. Willie Jr. played various positions at Georgia Southern before taking a job assisting the football program. Freddie earned a scholarship offer to Georgia Tech his senior year of high school and immediately accepted.

A few years later, Willie Burden was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Doctors implanted a device that pumped the left side of his heart, as a way to give him more time before needing a transplant.

Freddie's decision to attend Georgia Tech has been life changing for a host of reasons. He goes into his second year as the Jackets' starting center, on a team that is projected to win the Coastal Division again. But being in Atlanta also means he is close enough to visit his dad every single day.

"In camp, Coach Johnson was very lenient with me. He said if I needed to go to the hospital, I was allowed to do so," Freddie said. "I didn't miss much time with football and I was able to see my dad a good amount as well. I go over there until about 10, whenever he gets in bed and when I come home, I try to study and get everything done."

Velma Burden works as the registrar at Georgia Southern, so she has to be in the office a few times a week. Otherwise, she makes the three-hour drive to Atlanta and is by Willie's side. They recently celebrated their 30th anniversary in the hospital. "We had a red juice toast," she said.

Willie, a professor at Georgia Southern, spends his days reading, watching Westerns, doing crosswords, greeting visitors and discussing places he wants to travel with Velma. After asking one of the nurses, "Where should I take my wife when I get out of here?" they were inspired to bring back pieces of their vacation to share with him.

Several factors have extended his wait time for a new heart. Burden is bigger than most people on the transplant list, so he needs the right size heart. The blood type has to match as well. Freddie said twice a heart has become available, but the match was not right either time.

The benefit to staying in the hospital while awaiting a new heart is the speed in which the transplant happens. As soon as one comes open and it is determined that it matches, Willie Burden will be ready for surgery.

Unfortunately, waiting in the hospital means Willie and Velma will be watching on television when Georgia Tech kicks off the season against Alcorn State on Thursday night. They always talk to Freddie before each game and after each game. That will not change.

Neither will the daily visits.

Or the hope.

"We know," Velma said, "Willie's day is coming."