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4/14
D'Andrea taking his time
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
04/14/2006
http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=16479799
COLUMBUS -- For the first time in his life, Mike D'Andrea is taking his time.
There is no schedule or timetable or deadline for his right knee to heal. For once, D'Andrea will just listen to his body and not look at a calendar.
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody> </table> Stung by injuries that have now kept him at Ohio State a year longer than he expected, D'Andrea is going slow this time in rehabilitating the right knee that has ruined each of his last two seasons. After suffering another setback while running in January, D'Andrea isn't participating in spring drills this month with the hopes of entering fall camp completely healthy. And that hasn't happened in quite some time.
''He's always given himself a deadline and he's never let himself completely heal,'' linebackers coach Luke Fickell said yesterday. ''We're not trying to give him a deadline or push him. We know what he can do. He's a fifth-year senior.''
D'Andrea is limiting himself to the weight room until this summer. He made it through bowl practices just fine, then overdid it again by running too much and suffering what he calls ''a little setback'' in the weeks following the Fiesta Bowl. While he didn't need more surgery, it was another sign that he was pushing himself too hard, too fast.
''There have been frustrating times, I'm not going to lie,'' D'Andrea said. ''I can't push it like I did in the past, because obviously that didn't work.''
D'Andrea has now endured two surgeries on the knee, including the original procedure to repair the torn ACL in 2004 that began all the trouble. There has now been permanent damage done to the ligaments within the knee, but D'Andrea met recently with doctors from the Cleveland Clinic and was told other athletes have had productive careers with similar looking knees.
''My right leg is a little smaller than my left leg,'' he said. ''Obviously when you're running, all that pressure has to go somewhere. If you don't have any muscle there, it goes straight to the knee. That's why I'm lifting all the time right now.''
D'Andrea hopes once the muscles in the leg are rebuilt, the knee problems will be minimal.
Fickell admits D'Andrea is the wild card heading into the '06 season. The first step -- and the most important -- is to ensure he's healthy. Once that has been established, step two is trying to figure out where he fits in on defense.
There are certainly plenty of vacancies.
All three linebacker positions are open, as is the ''Leo,'' which Bobby Carpenter perfected last year as a part-time linebacker and a part-time defensive end. D'Andrea played the role before Carpenter and had an impressive spring doing so back before the shoulder and knee injuries set in.
''I just want Mike to be healthy,'' Fickell said. ''If Mike's healthy, he can help this football team. I don't know where and I don't know how, but we all know Mike can help this football team. But he has to be healthy first.''
For now, John Kerr has been moved from the outside back to middle linebacker, where he started for Indiana as a freshman and led the Hoosiers with 112 tackles. He would certainly seem to be the frontrunner for D'Andrea's old position heading into the fall.
By not taking any physical contact during spring practice, D'Andrea is hoping he's 100 percent by the time fall practice begins in August. Then he can take a run at Kerr and perhaps end his time in Columbus with at least one season of health and productivity. To this point, he's been limited to 44 tackles for his career.
''He deserves so much after what he has put in and all the bad things that have happened to him,'' Fickell said. ''Mike's had a lot of hardships. He has challenged himself many times to just believe in himself and believe in what can happen, so he knows there is a role for him. It's hard to even talk to him about it. If he wasn't such a strong kid with such a strong mind, you would have lost him a while ago.''
[email protected]
4/14
D'Andrea taking his time
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
04/14/2006
http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=16479799
COLUMBUS -- For the first time in his life, Mike D'Andrea is taking his time.
There is no schedule or timetable or deadline for his right knee to heal. For once, D'Andrea will just listen to his body and not look at a calendar.
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody> </table> Stung by injuries that have now kept him at Ohio State a year longer than he expected, D'Andrea is going slow this time in rehabilitating the right knee that has ruined each of his last two seasons. After suffering another setback while running in January, D'Andrea isn't participating in spring drills this month with the hopes of entering fall camp completely healthy. And that hasn't happened in quite some time.
''He's always given himself a deadline and he's never let himself completely heal,'' linebackers coach Luke Fickell said yesterday. ''We're not trying to give him a deadline or push him. We know what he can do. He's a fifth-year senior.''
D'Andrea is limiting himself to the weight room until this summer. He made it through bowl practices just fine, then overdid it again by running too much and suffering what he calls ''a little setback'' in the weeks following the Fiesta Bowl. While he didn't need more surgery, it was another sign that he was pushing himself too hard, too fast.
''There have been frustrating times, I'm not going to lie,'' D'Andrea said. ''I can't push it like I did in the past, because obviously that didn't work.''
D'Andrea has now endured two surgeries on the knee, including the original procedure to repair the torn ACL in 2004 that began all the trouble. There has now been permanent damage done to the ligaments within the knee, but D'Andrea met recently with doctors from the Cleveland Clinic and was told other athletes have had productive careers with similar looking knees.
''My right leg is a little smaller than my left leg,'' he said. ''Obviously when you're running, all that pressure has to go somewhere. If you don't have any muscle there, it goes straight to the knee. That's why I'm lifting all the time right now.''
D'Andrea hopes once the muscles in the leg are rebuilt, the knee problems will be minimal.
Fickell admits D'Andrea is the wild card heading into the '06 season. The first step -- and the most important -- is to ensure he's healthy. Once that has been established, step two is trying to figure out where he fits in on defense.
There are certainly plenty of vacancies.
All three linebacker positions are open, as is the ''Leo,'' which Bobby Carpenter perfected last year as a part-time linebacker and a part-time defensive end. D'Andrea played the role before Carpenter and had an impressive spring doing so back before the shoulder and knee injuries set in.
''I just want Mike to be healthy,'' Fickell said. ''If Mike's healthy, he can help this football team. I don't know where and I don't know how, but we all know Mike can help this football team. But he has to be healthy first.''
For now, John Kerr has been moved from the outside back to middle linebacker, where he started for Indiana as a freshman and led the Hoosiers with 112 tackles. He would certainly seem to be the frontrunner for D'Andrea's old position heading into the fall.
By not taking any physical contact during spring practice, D'Andrea is hoping he's 100 percent by the time fall practice begins in August. Then he can take a run at Kerr and perhaps end his time in Columbus with at least one season of health and productivity. To this point, he's been limited to 44 tackles for his career.
''He deserves so much after what he has put in and all the bad things that have happened to him,'' Fickell said. ''Mike's had a lot of hardships. He has challenged himself many times to just believe in himself and believe in what can happen, so he knows there is a role for him. It's hard to even talk to him about it. If he wasn't such a strong kid with such a strong mind, you would have lost him a while ago.''
[email protected]
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Here's to MDA having a great year, helping the Bucks to the NC game in Phoenix.
