Broad Shoulders
June 10, 2008 11:01 AM | General
June 10, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior Reed Williams is approaching the 20007 football season as if it will be his last one. However, the Moorefield, W.Va., resident has a redshirt still available and could use it in the event that his shoulders don’t fully recover from off-season surgery.
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| Reed Williams was the defensive MVP of the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Pete Emerson photo |
“They say it’s about a six-month total rehab for the shoulder injury,” Williams said last week. “With the right one we’re about four-five months along with it and the left one a couple of months behind. We’re progressing well and my doctor is pretty pleased with the strength I’ve built so far and it looks good right now.”
The 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pounder was the defensive MVP of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, collecting nine tackles, two tackles for losses and forcing a fumble in the Mountaineers’ 48-28 victory over Big 12 champion Oklahoma.
Soon afterward Williams had both shoulders operated on and sat out spring practice.
“It’s basically like starting over,” Williams said. “The strength is coming back pretty fast. The strength coaches have told me that muscle builds fast after a surgery like this. I am just trying to be patient with it and take it day by day and push myself as hard as I can.”
During his downtime immediately following the surgery, Williams tried to stay as involved in the program as he could. He was on the sidelines for most of the spring practices observing and learning. He says he was able to turn a negative into a positive.
“I am growing personally from it. Seeing some of the mistakes they were making and those were some of the same mistakes I made last year,” Williams noted. “I have a better viewpoint. I get to sit back and see what they’re doing and try to fix myself.
“We’ve got a lot of young talent and I’m anxious to see what some of those guys can do - Pat Lazear and Najee Good - some of those kids are very talented and it’s going to be fun to watch them grow,” Williams said.
Williams was asked if this year’s linebacker corps is the most talented he’s been a part of. He believes it might be.
“It’s certainly the fastest. There is a lot of speed in our group and a lot of talent,” Williams said. “We’ve got some big hitters; J.T. Thomas’ name is going to be heard a lot out there this year. You’re going to be excited to see number 30 on the field.
“Mortty Ivy has been a mainstay and he’s going to continue to do it. He’s had the best off-season he’s had since he’s been here,” Williams said. “There are a lot of things to be excited about with our linebacker group and hopefully our defense can grow from that and we can be the core of it.”
In the meantime, Williams’ primary goal this summer is getting both shoulders back into playing condition.
“Right now they’ve kind of restricted my motion back. In an all-out sprint they don’t want me ripping my arms all the way back. I just started running a couple of weeks ago. It’s a process and I’m taking it day by day,” Williams said. “With each day it grows and the shoulder is allowed to go back a little farther and I’m allowed to do more things in the weight room so it’s building.”
Williams admits there have been days when he has had to work through a moderate amount of pain.
“There is some pain. With any rehab there is going to be some pain but you push past it. It’s more of a burning pain than a shooting pain,” he said. “To get that burning pain you know you’re building your strength back. You continue to push until you feel it and once it gets too bad you stop and start working on it again the next day.”
And while Williams is making significant progress he is still not allowed to do any lifting over his head. That remains his remaining obstacle to overcome.
“The biggest thing is there is no weight progression above my head,” he said. “Anything below the shoulders I’m allowed to do right now.”
If all goes well Reed Williams expects to be out on the field when fall camp opens in August.
“I plan on playing next year. I don’t think this is a season I want to miss,” Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of great talent and a lot of opportunities so we’ve just got to try and work together and see what we can do with it.”
If one or both shoulders don’t respond Williams said a decision to redshirt will only be as a last resort and could be delayed all the way up to the season opener against Villanova.
“I think we have up until the first game. I talked to Coach Stew and Coach Casteel about it and they both said as long and I’m healthy and to make sure I’m where I want to be. The decision is up to me and my family,” Williams said.
