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LB Mike D'Andrea (official thread)

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There were many doubters about Carp doing the same thing! "He can't cover!" "He can't play DE."
D'Andrea was way more athletic than Carp. He was faster. Moved better. Whether he still has it I don't know?
But. if the coaches have talked to him about it. I think they will give it a try.
I remember his rushing the passer in the NCST game. He was a beast.
He may have made the play of the game , forcing an interception.
His play was one of the few bright spots in that game.
He can rush the passer.
He can drop in coverage.
I think if he can stay healthy, he'll have a huge impact. Like Carp!
 
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Taosman said:
There were many doubters about Carp doing the same thing! "He can't cover!" "He can't play DE."
D'Andrea was way more athletic than Carp. He was faster. Moved better. Whether he still has it I don't know?
But. if the coaches have talked to him about it. I think they will give it a try.
I remember his rushing the passer in the NCST game. He was a beast.
He may have made the play of the game , forcing an interception.
His play was one of the few bright spots in that game.
He can rush the passer.
He can drop in coverage.
I think if he can stay healthy, he'll have a huge impact. Like Carp!
Click to expand...


Yes, there were many doubters. But you are missing the main point, Carpenter was injured throughout his whole career the way D'Andrea has been. Its no knock on the kid, but its true that his legs and body are becoming injury prone and arent doing him justice for a job that is going to take a lot of speed for.

As you said in your last line, if he can stay healty. Hes not even 100% healthy yet and is why he wont be rushing back to spring ball like he did last year. This will be a huge impact on him as a possible OLB.

mIKE d'aNDREA
 
Upvote 0
Taosman said:
There were many doubters about Carp doing the same thing! "He can't cover!" "He can't play DE."
D'Andrea was way more athletic than Carp. He was faster. Moved better. Whether he still has it I don't know?
But. if the coaches have talked to him about it. I think they will give it a try.
I remember his rushing the passer in the NCST game. He was a beast.
He may have made the play of the game , forcing an interception.
His play was one of the few bright spots in that game.
He can rush the passer.
He can drop in coverage.
I think if he can stay healthy, he'll have a huge impact. Like Carp!
Click to expand...

There weren't that many doubters...besides, he played outside linebacker which made it easier to move down into the rush position. D'Andrea is a pure middle linebacker, and he was the starter there before he got hurt (starting ahead of a guy who is going to get paid on Sundays). He won't move...
 
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I'm thinking the coaches see D'Andrea's move outside as a chance to keep him healthy. I don't see him as a pure mlb. I think of mlbs as somewhat stiff and un-athletic. I think he's more athletic than Schlegal and faster.
I have doubts he could take the beating inside.
Just get him on the field for a whole season.
 
Upvote 0
Taosman said:
I'm thinking the coaches see D'Andrea's move outside as a chance to keep him healthy. I don't see him as a pure mlb. I think of mlbs as somewhat stiff and un-athletic. I think he's more athletic than Schlegal and faster.
I have doubts he could take the beating inside.
Just get him on the field for a whole season.
Click to expand...

:horse:
 
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Toledo Blade

4/9


D'Andrea blitzed by injuries
Linebacker is shooting for Ohio State's Sept. 2 opener

By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
<center></center>
COLUMBUS - A few chapters in Mike D'Andrea's legend had been written even before he came to Ohio State.
<center></center> He was a Parade Magazine All-American, the top-rated high school linebacker in the country, and the guy many expected to eventually take his place of honor high on the mantel next to Buckeyes greats Andy Katzenmoyer and Tom Cousineau.<center></center> On the football field, D'Andrea was a terrifying blend of size, speed and strength, and the guy whose menacing shadow pushed talents like A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter to the background. But while those two members of the same recruiting class went on to stardom with the Buckeyes, almost five seasons later D'Andrea has nearly as many surgeries as he has starts for Ohio State.<center></center> His joints have betrayed him. First the shoulder, then the knee, and the knee again, and again.<center></center> After backing up All-American Matt Wilhelm in the 2002 national championship season as a freshman, D'Andrea was in the playing rotation when he tore up his shoulder and missed the last three games of 2003.<center></center> He rehabbed that injury following surgery, and D'Andrea's first game as a starter came in the opener of the 2004 season against Cincinnati. He played in just four games before tearing his ACL and making a date with the arthroscopic surgeon.<center></center> While he recovered from that injury, the NCAA granted D'Andrea an extra year of eligibility because of all the time he had missed.<center></center> That made D'Andrea a junior when he recovered enough to rejoin the Buckeyes midway through last season, and he played briefly against Indiana and Minnesota before the knee flared up again. He was well enough to practice before the Fiesta Bowl and to take part in some of the offseason workouts, but D'Andrea is being held out of contact this spring while his temperamental knee determines his fate.<center></center> "It was my understanding that we'd be lucky to have him in the spring," Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said during a recent review of the lengthy D'Andrea medical journal. "He's still working on getting healthy so he can compete better. At times, he just hasn't felt comfortable enough with it."<center></center> D'Andrea said he has had to constantly curb his competitive fire in his search to find the patience required for the long road back. He remains steadfast in his contention that he will play again for the Buckeyes, and has targeted the Sept. 2 opener against Northern Illinois.<center></center> "I want to be out there on the practice field every day, and be able to take part in everything the rest of the team does," D'Andrea said. "That's the hardest part - the watching. You watch them practice and you watch them play, and it kind of eats you up that you can't be part of it. But I also realize that I have to be smart about this and not jump in there before the body is ready."<center></center> While he may talk about the troublesome parts in third person, D'Andrea throws his soul into what has driven him to spend untold hours in the swimming pool and on the weight machines as he tried to make the knee sound enough for the rigors of battle.<center></center> "My only incentive is being hurt and missing the last couple years," D'Andrea said. "I don't need any more incentive right now."<center></center> The road to recovery has had many switchbacks for D'Andrea, a native of Avon Lake in the Cleveland area. One of his biggest struggles has been balancing his will with his X-rays.<center></center> "It is real hard coming back from an injury," D'Andrea said. "Because sometimes you think you are all right, but then you realize it just might be that you want so bad to be OK that you kind of trick yourself. There are times - a lot of times really - when you just don't know."<center></center> Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, whose defense needs a talent like D'Andrea much more now that Hawk and Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel are gone, is cautious about bringing players back from serious injuries like D'Andrea suffered.<center></center> "When we're dealing with young men coming back from surgeries, we always tend to take it pretty conservatively," Tressel said. "A lot of times the kids will tell you that they feel wonderful because they want to play so badly, but then they're really not fully ready to go, and you just end up aggravating the injury."<center></center> Midway through spring practice, the Buckeyes are still searching to find replacements for the three Crushkateers - Hawk, Carpenter and Schlegel - one of the best linebacking trios in Ohio State history who accounted for 252 tackles, including 20 sacks, last season.<center></center> Those auditioning to fill the roles at linebacker include junior Marcus Freeman, who is also coming back from a knee injury that cost him all but the first game of 2005, senior John Kerr and sophomore James Laurinaitis, who was summoned to the front lines last November when Carpenter broke his ankle on the first play against Michigan.<center></center> The younger Buckeyes acknowledge that they will need D'Andrea's leadership as much as his physique, his force and his finesse.<center></center> "Everybody's hoping that Mike can come back from the knee thing and play for us," Laurinaitis said. "The guy's a great player and a great leader, and someone this linebacker group really needs."<center></center> D'Andrea, forever balancing the determination to play with the reality of lingering physical issues, said he continues to gain strength in the knee. But he also puts the brakes on any rush into contact.<center></center> "It is coming along, but I don't want to do anything stupid and mess up my last year at Ohio State," D'Andrea said.<center></center> "When something like this happens, everybody probably says, why me? But that feeling goes away and you either do what it takes to get yourself back out on the field, or you give up. I made that decision a long time ago, and when I'm ready I don't think the psychological part will be a problem. I'll get back in the swing of things the moment I put the pads on."
 
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Dispatch

4/14/06

OSU FOOTBALL | NOTEBOOK

D’Andrea taking care on way back

Friday, April 14, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>
20060414-Pc-C9-0700.jpg
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>NEAL C . LAURON | DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Mike D’Andrea has missed 22 of 51 football games at OSU because of injuries. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


The stoplight just ahead of Mike D’Andrea has turned yellow, but he’s resisting the urge to hit the gas and beat the light.

The Ohio State linebacker has done that before, pushing himself too hard and too early to come back from injury. He’s learned the painful lesson that it’s a bad idea.

Sidelined by reconstructive knee surgery all last spring and preseason camp, D’Andrea suffered a setback when he hit the field for two games in October.

"I tried to come back a little too quick," he said. "I tried to start running before my legs were (ready), and it just started swelling up on me. I’ve got to learn to be a little more patient, I guess."

He smiled ruefully. If there’s one thing D’Andrea has learned in his OSU career, it’s patience.

The high-school star out of Avon Lake played in 2002 as a true freshman but was sidelined by shoulder injuries for much of 2003.

Surgery corrected that, and he was just starting to fulfill his sizable promise in 2004 when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in practice after playing three games.

Other than a few specialteams plays last season, he hasn’t played since, missing 22 of 51 games over four seasons. He was given a redshirt season, and now 2006 is his last shot.

If he makes it back, it would be a true feel-good ending to his star-crossed career.

"Mike deserves everything, and I feel so bad," co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell said. "I think every single coach on this staff just hopes the best for him."

D’Andrea said he’s working on getting both legs evenly strong to lessen the potential of overcompensating and risking reinjury.
"Being out on the field and knowing what that feeling is like, especially when the stadium is packed and everything, I want to get back to that feeling," he said.
Click to expand...
 
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