. >> reporter: the brain of nathan styles. >> which is nathan styles, right. >> reporter: for nathan styles, 2010 was supposed to be his year. the 17-year-old senior from spring hill, kansas, was the star running back for his high school football team. he was also a starter on the varsity basketball team. >> if you would watch him run, he had a flow about him that was just beautiful. i mean, it looked so graceful. >> he was an athlete, but school was more important. his grades and a future and a family and he just had his priorities right. >> reporter: on friday, october 1st, 2010. >> the 2010 homecoming king is -- nathan stiles. >> reporter: the spring hill brncos lost that game. >> the next day he told me he had a headache. and i said, oh, really? he said oh, yeah, i think i just got knocked around. i'm, like, okay. and i got a call that wednesday, that following wednesday from the trainer at school saying nathan's telling me he's still having headaches. you need to go take him to the emergency room. so i did. had a cat scan. nothing. >> reporter: despite a clean ct scan, the doctor