On October 16th, 2010, Eric LeGrand suffered a severe spinal injury against against Army that left him paralyzed from the neck down.  Now he can remain sitting up on his own for around 20 seconds.

It is a milestone in his physical therapy at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J. where he has been working out since early summer.

While he cannot actually lift himself into the sitting position — that has to be done by his physical therapists, through balance and will power he has been able to hold the upright position day after day for the past week.

“It really is like a strain, my shoulders and my neck, I get a knot in them,” LeGrand said in an exclusive interview with NBC New York.

In October, LeGrand led Rutgers onto the field for their game against West Virginia. Here’s hoping LeGrand keeps improving.

[Photo: Brian Tompson]