FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -Few things can make Wilson Holloway stop smiling. Cancer isn't one of them.

The Tulsa offensive lineman who defeated Hodgkin's lymphoma twice in the past 10 months was honored Thursday with the Courage Award from the Football Writers Association of America and the Orange Bowl, showing off the same toothy grin that helped get him through a difficult time.

``I'm so optimistic and so upbeat, I never really let it get me down. My whole mentality on it is if I let it get to me, then it's winning,'' Holloway said.

``I just kind of went about my life and did everything I wanted to do, and didn't let it slow me down.''

Holloway's positive approach rubbed off on his teammates during an 11-3 season in which the Golden Hurricane set a school record for victories - and on his mom, too.

``When we were first diagnosed, sometimes I was wondering if he really recognized how serious it was,'' said Penny Holloway. ``But he told me that he had gotten online and he realized that it was serious, but he just wasn't willing to give into the negative part of it.''

The first signs that Holloway was ill popped up when he was running during Tulsa's offseason workouts in February.

``Usually I can run pretty well, and the coaches noticed that I was struggling more than usual and I was short of breath,'' Holloway said. ``It was supposed to be hard, but I was struggling more than what I should have been.''

His line coach, offensive coordinator Herb Hand, suggested Holloway should get checked out. On March 13, he got word that he had a softball-sized tumor in his chest.

``It kind of surprised me, but I was never really worried about it,'' Holloway said. ``It's not the greatest thing you want to hear, but I wasn't really worried about it because I have faith in God that I could fall back on him and put it in his hands and everything was going to be all right.''

Holloway, who has two brothers in college football, said he just couldn't stay away from the game - and it showed. Tulsa coach Todd Graham recalls Holloway going through every workout and every run, turning into a team leader along the way. With Holloway out there despite going through chemotherapy treatments, ``for the first time, all of our players made all of the runs. There was nobody complaining,'' Graham said.

``It impacted our team big-time from a competitive standpoint,'' Graham added. ``Our guys are going, 'How can we complain about anything? Look at the example this guy is showing.'''

By August, Holloway was cancer-free and able to return to football. He played in six games, mostly on the field goal unit, as Tulsa got off to its best start in school history at 8-0.

Then, in October, the cancer made a second visit.

``When it came back, that just kind of took my breath away because I didn't know if he would be able to go through it again,'' Penny Holloway said.

With his resolved buoyed by his first fight with the disease, Holloway was up to the challenge again - even though this time, the treatment was more intense. When, unlike the first time, the chemotherapy made him lose his hair, Holloway's fellow linemen and quarterback David Johnson shaved their heads in a show of solidarity.

``I thought it was a good sacrifice,'' Holloway said, rubbing his hand on top of his head. ``I kind of grew attached to this but it's starting to grow back a little bit. I've got a little bit of fuzz.''

After three regular rounds of chemotherapy, Holloway had a high-dose treatment over five days that was intended to wipe out the cancer for good. It meant that he had to be isolated in his family's apartment for three weeks. The hardest part was the sores it created in his mouth, which kept him from swallowing food.

The early indications are that it worked. Holloway has a checkup next week and then will go back to the doctor every six months, but he's planning to be with the team when offseason workouts start again next week.

Graham said Holloway has told him he intends to be the starting left tackle next season for the Golden Hurricane's high-powered offense, ``and I can guarantee you I have no doubt.''

``You can let something like that destroy your spirit, or you can let your spirit overcome and defeat the adversity,'' Graham said. ``I think that's the example that Wilson's set.''

And if the cancer rears its ugly head a third time?

``I've thought about it. If it comes back, it comes back,'' Holloway said. ``You've just got to deal with it and roll with the punches. It's not something that I dwell on and worry about.''