MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The most miserable place to be on the Blue Raider football practice field is not in the crosshairs of a coach correcting a mistake, nor is it even on the sideline, waiting for your number to be called at all to jump into a play.
It’s off to the side, with Strength and Conditioning Coach Jamie Blatnick, where the Blue Raiders that are injured go through their rehab assignments while their teammates play football. It varies depending on the injury, of course. Some players are on exercise bikes, others do band work. Nearly everyone, however, ends up pushing weights along the ground, or pulling them with their body, to build back strength as they return from injury.
Linebacker Parker Hughes, who rehabbed all of fall camp to return from injury for the Blue Raiders this September, said you have to go into a different zone mentally to focus on your work. And it does help to make it a bit of a game…