North Carolina State University Athletics
Smith and Rice Cleared to Practice
8/4/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
When the NC State football team gathers for its first full-squad practice on August 10, Edrick Smith and Alex Rice will be back where they belong: alongside their teammates in between the lines.
It wasn't always that way last season.
Rice, a senior offensive lineman from Youngsville, N.C, watched helplessly from the sidelines throughout the 1999 campaign after undergoing major neck surgery. The inactivity was a bitter pill to swallow for a battle-tested veteran who, just a season before, had started all 11 games.
Following a sensational freshman season in '98, Smith was being touted as one of the ACC's best linebackers as the Pack geared up for last year's opener at Texas. But the promise of a superb sophomore year collapsed when the Butkus Award candidate limped off the field early in the game against the Longhorns with a knee injury. The diagnosis: a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Nearly one year later, Rice and Smith are ready to play football again. The medical clearance that both players had been waiting for from trainer Jamey Coll has been granted. But how effective will they be? Neither the players nor their coach can answer that question right now.
"We have to be smart in how much we allow them to do right off the bat," Pack coach Chuck Amato said. "Neither one of them have really played football in over a year. Edrick got hurt early in the Texas game and hasn't done anything since then. I've talked to Jamie about having them practice once a day during two-a-days."
Once preseason drills begin, the Pack will be practicing twice a day until classes begin later this month. How Rice and Smith respond during and after the workouts will have a lot to say about just how much they can contribute.
Generally speaking, rehabilitation from ACL surgery takes anywhere from 8-10 months. Smith, whose knee was repaired last September, should benefit from having 11 full months of recovery time. The psychological hurdles he now faces are perhaps more imposing that the physical challenges he'll encounter.
"The mental part of it is the tough part about those operations," Amato said. "Physically he's well, but there's the mental part of it. He's still a young man. The first time he takes a hit on it and gets up and realizes he's going to be fine will be a big part of it."
Running back K.J. Stone isn't on the same timetable as Smith. Although the two players underwent similar surgical procedures, Stone is further behind in the recovery process because he was hurt last October. And even after the injury, extensive swelling in the knee forced doctors to delay the surgery for a few weeks.
"It's going to be awhile before K.J. can go out on the field," Amato said.
Flashing speed and quickness, Stone became a surprise starter in last year's opener at Texas. But ultimately, a proclivity for fumbling sent the redshirt freshman on a steady descent down the depth chart.
