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August 8, 2012

Get Back

Filed under: Football,Players — Chas @ 8:50 am

There’s always that moment in the narrative of a football player returning from injury. When he takes that first hit, knows his injured limb/tendon/ligament/muscle can take it. When he clears that mental hurdle. There’s something to be said for that.

Still, with Ray Graham it should be more about being able to plant, cut, spin and move. This really is about knowing the physical possibilities. His replaced ACL in his right knee needs to be able to take the stress of that. Graham, his coaches and teammates need to see it. More than any hit, they need to see that happen.

It happened.

Graham, who participated in every drill today including the team periods, had one play where he planted his foot, made a cut and ran into the open field. As he turned around, he had a huge smile on his face, as if to say “I’m back.”

It was a big step forward from the way he played Monday as he didn’t participate in team drills and was a bit hesitant to make cuts and change direction.

That should be welcome news for Pitt fans as, when healthy, Graham is one of the best running backs in the country, and obviously a very important piece of the Panthers’ offensive puzzle.

After practice, Graham was all smiles and said that he felt a lot better than he did Monday and said he will continue to get stronger and more confident each day.

“I played with more confidence today, I went out there and just didn’t think about things,” Graham said. “The more I stretched, the better I felt and I just went out and played. The first day was a test day, just trying to see how I feel and I feel as though I am progressing as the days go on. And hopefully day three will be even better than day two. I just need to get better.

“I definitely felt a lot better, my knee is going to be sore after practice anyway. But when I made that move, I cut on my leg, it felt good. And I got tripped up earlier and I fell on it but it didn’t hurt at all.

“So this is a confidence thing, it is a mental thing and like I said every time, the more I don’t think about it and just do it, the better I will feel.”

It’s huge. I have no doubt there will be some days in camp where it will seem Graham takes a step back. The knee will hurt more on one day, and worries will flare. He is trying to get back to playing condition. He is trying to shake the rust off to regain the instincts and and knowledge of his body.

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