USF DT Grissom could be back for opener
May, 23, 2012
5/23/12
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By
Andrea Adelson | ESPN.com
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- USF coach Skip Holtz delivered some encouraging news during the Big East spring meetings -- starting defensive tackle Cory Grissom is on pace to return for the start of the season.
Grissom broke his ankle during the last week of spring practice, and there were fears the injury could cost him some significant playing time. But after undergoing surgery and beginning rehab, Holtz said Grissom should be medically cleared Aug. 1. If there are no setbacks in his rehab and recovery, he should be able to play Sept. 1 against Chattanooga.
"He’s coming along well," Holtz said. "The swelling is going down, and he’s able to get on the bike and do some exercise things. One of the concerns was his weight that when he comes out of this he’s not 340 pounds and now it takes us a month to get back down to playing weight because of how much he would be limited with his exercise with the injury to the ankle. But he’s doing a great job keeping his weight down, he’s able to get on the weight and do some cardio things to keep his weight down. To this point, there have been no setbacks."
The tricky part will be handling Grissom during training camp. USF will take its time with him, to be sure it can get him up to speed with plenty of time to go before the season begins. All that will depend on how he handles getting back into practice.
"We’re going to have to be careful because we’re not going to be able to take him from 0 to 60 Aug. 1," Holtz said. "We’re going to have to slowly get him back in. Maybe we’ll take him through individual work for a week and no team stuff. Then the second week of camp, maybe we’ll let him do some 1-on-1s. Maybe the third week, he can get into inside drills or half line and hopefully when we get into our season, we’ll have been able to gradually get him back into it.
"He may get into it and at one point it, may start to swell and he may have soreness and we’ll have to pull back. Then you go a little slower with it. We’re going to have to see. It’s not the bone we’re worried about. It’s the ligaments and making sure that the ligaments come back strong enough and healthy enough and we don’t push him too early."
Grissom broke his ankle during the last week of spring practice, and there were fears the injury could cost him some significant playing time. But after undergoing surgery and beginning rehab, Holtz said Grissom should be medically cleared Aug. 1. If there are no setbacks in his rehab and recovery, he should be able to play Sept. 1 against Chattanooga.
"He’s coming along well," Holtz said. "The swelling is going down, and he’s able to get on the bike and do some exercise things. One of the concerns was his weight that when he comes out of this he’s not 340 pounds and now it takes us a month to get back down to playing weight because of how much he would be limited with his exercise with the injury to the ankle. But he’s doing a great job keeping his weight down, he’s able to get on the weight and do some cardio things to keep his weight down. To this point, there have been no setbacks."
The tricky part will be handling Grissom during training camp. USF will take its time with him, to be sure it can get him up to speed with plenty of time to go before the season begins. All that will depend on how he handles getting back into practice.
"We’re going to have to be careful because we’re not going to be able to take him from 0 to 60 Aug. 1," Holtz said. "We’re going to have to slowly get him back in. Maybe we’ll take him through individual work for a week and no team stuff. Then the second week of camp, maybe we’ll let him do some 1-on-1s. Maybe the third week, he can get into inside drills or half line and hopefully when we get into our season, we’ll have been able to gradually get him back into it.
"He may get into it and at one point it, may start to swell and he may have soreness and we’ll have to pull back. Then you go a little slower with it. We’re going to have to see. It’s not the bone we’re worried about. It’s the ligaments and making sure that the ligaments come back strong enough and healthy enough and we don’t push him too early."
Andrea Adelson | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big East/Nation blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2010
- Wrote for The Orlando Sentinel
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
Matt Fortuna
Fortuna joined ESPN.com in 2011 after working for MLB.com and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where he covered college sports. He grew up in New York and is a Penn State graduate.
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