Gophers doctors have their rehab schedule, and Marcus Jones has his. How different are they? Picture a footrace pitting the teenage receiver against his orthopedic surgeons.
Yes, surgical textbooks and medical advice say Jones should be nearing the halfway point of a marathon. Jones believes he has already crossed the finish line of a 100-yard dash.
"To me, I'm healthy again. I mean, I'm listening [to his doctors], I'm being careful," the sophomore-to-be said. "But my knee feels great."
Actually, it didn't exactly feel bad last Oct. 26, when he caught a kickoff and headed upfield during Gophers practice. He cut to avoid a tackle, took an awkward step and was hit by a teammate. "It wasn't like it hurt -- I felt something in my knee click. I just walked of the field, and the trainer played with a little bit and told me I was done for the day. Then later, Doc [Pat] Smith told me I tore [an ACL]."
Ricky Rubio can relate. Adrian Peterson, too. So can fellow Gopher Trevor Mbakwe, and hundreds of other pro and college athletes every year. They tear a knee ligament, have it surgically stitched up, and then put in six months, nine months, sometimes a year, working to make it sound again.
Or in Jones' case, a little more than four months.
"That is a truly amazing story," marveled Gophers coach Jerry Kill, who watched Jones catch passes in early March to prove himself healthy enough to take part in spring practice, albeit without any tackling. "It's beyond medical science, that one. It's an unbelievable comeback -- he looks as fast as he ever was."
The Gophers sure hope so. Jones caught his first pass for Minnesota last fall when he was only 17, and he had nine catches for 142 yards before he was injured. Only 10 days earlier, the freshman became the first Gopher in four years to return a kickoff for a touchdown.