‘He’ll be ready to go.’ Kentucky QB Terry Wilson’s rehab is on schedule.
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UK in the 2019 Belk Bowl
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Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops during the Belk Bowl media day on Monday was asked about the recovery of injured quarterback Terry Wilson.
He’s optimistic about the senior-to-be’s chances of starting in UK’s season opener against Eastern Michigan next fall.
“I 100 percent anticipate he’ll be ready to go,” Stoops said. “They haven’t told me that but, I mean ...”
Laughter erupted for a few seconds before he finished, with a grin: “I’m making a call there.”
Wilson tore the patellar tendon in his left leg during the third quarter of UK’s 38-17 win over Eastern Michigan on Sept. 7. He won’t be available during spring camp but did travel with the team to Charlotte; he’s walking without crutches and is able to do some light throwing work in addition to strength and conditioning activities.
“He looks good,” Stoops said. “He’s gotta continue to build that quad. That’s the big thing with that type of injury because you have a tendency to get some atrophy from letting that heal for so long.”
Rehab for a torn patellar tendon can take about six to nine months following surgery. Wilson underwent surgery about two weeks after his injury, putting him at about the three-month mark of his rehab.
Besides getting re-conditioned physically and mentally, putting on weight is a primary point of emphasis this offseason for Wilson — a 6-foot-3 quarterback who was listed at 203 pounds entering 2019.
“He’s gotta get some weight back on, in general, but we had a talk before we left for the bowl, before we had the little Christmas break, and he knows that,” Stoops said. “He’s able to attack the weight room now, not only with his quad and rehabbing that, but his whole body and getting back to where he was. He was getting big, y’know, and he needs to be. Not in a bad way, but a good way.”
Wilson threw for 1,889 yards on 180-of-268 passing (67.2 percent) and ran for 547 yards in 2018. He was 33-of-52 for 360 yards and two touchdowns without an interception prior to his injury this season.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 1:40 PM.
