Ronald Thompkins

[DudznSudz]

247 Sports reporting that he indeed had an ACL tear. So, he'll be rehabbing most of his senior year. Sucks for the guy, as this is his second ACL tear in as many years.

Here is what I know about ACL tears:

1.) They used to be career-ending, but surgery to repair them now is so excellent that it really doesn't stop you in many cases, it just takes a long time to rehab them. They're one of a few very important knee ligaments, and for some reason are the most common one to injure for various sports that require quick, cutting leg movement.

2.) Due to having looser ligaments in general, female athletes have a far greater chance of tearing their ACL's. I picked up that fun fact when I noticed that in high school, a lot of the girls team's soccer players and gymnasts would do that and be on crutches for months following surgery.

So, question for students of the game and former athletes:
Is it possible that Thompkins just has flat-out weaker ligaments than the average person? Or is that impossible? Is it his technique in running? What I am getting at is, Nebraska is saying it will honor his scholarship, but is it possible that he'll just get injured again and again after rehabbing this one? I know Tre Bryant had a somewhat different condition (not enough cartilage on his knee joints), but the point of having recurring injuries is the comparison.

 

[TheBeav815]

247 Sports reporting that he indeed had an ACL tear. So, he'll be rehabbing most of his senior year. Sucks for the guy, as this is his second ACL tear in as many years.

Here is what I know about ACL tears:

1.) They used to be career-ending, but surgery to repair them now is so excellent that it really doesn't stop you in many cases, it just takes a long time to rehab them. They're one of a few very important knee ligaments, and for some reason are the most common one to injure for various sports that require quick, cutting leg movement.

2.) Due to having looser ligaments in general, female athletes have a far greater chance of tearing their ACL's. I picked up that fun fact when I noticed that in high school, a lot of the girls team's soccer players and gymnasts would do that and be on crutches for months following surgery.

So, question for students of the game and former athletes:
Is it possible that Thompkins just has flat-out weaker ligaments than the average person? Or is that impossible? Is it his technique in running? What I am getting at is, Nebraska is saying it will honor his scholarship, but is it possible that he'll just get injured again and again after rehabbing this one? I know Tre Bryant had a somewhat different condition (not enough cartilage on his knee joints), but the point of having recurring injuries is the comparison.

I think now they're at a point with the surgery where the knee is stronger after the repair and rehab than it was before. There's really just no way to know if a guy is going to pop a knee or not regardless of who he is or his past history.

The real question is psychological and muscle memory. After two years of rehabbing his knees, can he re-learn to walk without a limp, to run normally, to trust the knees, to cut violently. Anthony Blue comes to mind with this, made some noise as a CB early on, blew a knee and then just never could get out of his head about it.

Honoring the offer is the right PR move. If I'm the HC I also sign another RB in light of this and how many scholarships are open for 2019. Gebbia leaving bumps up the class size yet again, and he may not be the last guy who quits this week.

 

[CU2011]

It is possible that either of your guesses as to why he has torn both of his ACLs could be true. The force produced, especially by high level athletes, when jumping, cutting, and landing is so great that even minor variances in proper technique can cause a devasting concentration of force on single ligaments causing them to rupture. Similar to your example of young females being more prone to ACL tears; individual anatomic differences can make otherwise healthy looking individuals more likely to sustain injury. It could be anything from loose ligaments to how certain joints sit in relation to the joint above and below them. Hopefully through surgery, the rehab process, and solid strength and conditioning Thompkins can address whatever has caused his injuries and find success in college.

 

[huskerssalts]

Hopefully he can heal come back 100%. The young man is a talent, fast RB that matched our offense perfectly. Cross our fingers for him on his rehabilitation for this. Maybe a few years before he has a chance to play for us (assuming everything goes as planned).

 

[DudznSudz]

Good answers, thanks guys!

 

[oldjar07]

I think now they're at a point with the surgery where the knee is stronger after the repair and rehab than it was before. There's really just no way to know if a guy is going to pop a knee or not regardless of who he is or his past history.

The real question is psychological and muscle memory. After two years of rehabbing his knees, can he re-learn to walk without a limp, to run normally, to trust the knees, to cut violently. Anthony Blue comes to mind with this, made some noise as a CB early on, blew a knee and then just never could get out of his head about it.

Honoring the offer is the right PR move. If I'm the HC I also sign another RB in light of this and how many scholarships are open for 2019. Gebbia leaving bumps up the class size yet again, and he may not be the last guy who quits this week.

PR move or not, you honor the scholarship. He's one of the best recruits in this class and extremely talented. If he comes back fully healthy, then great. If he's still struggling with the knee a few years down the road, put him on medical scholarship.

 

[litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671]

As somebody who's lived on the operating table for the last 5 years, I can say for me anyway, everything Beav mentioned is real. Sometimes you find yourself limping out of habit if you can believe that, or even driving around the parking lot a few times to get as close to the door to the store as you can because you don't have the confidence you can make it to the door, all the way around the store, and back out to the car. Not to mention a small mis-step and the pain it can recall, so you're careful, very. You'd have to live through it to really get it, and I was no D1 stud RB either. Just a normal guy trying to get back to a normal life again and walk to the point to where nobody could tell I was jacked up. He has a long road ahead of him and I'm rooting for him and his mental well being, cause it really sucks.

 

[Harry Caray]

He seems to have a great attitude based on his tweets the last couple days