After some apprehension, UK football’s Terry Wilson is owning his rehab
A little while after going under the knife in mid-September, Terry Wilson hit a mental wall after visualizing the rehab path before him.
Throughout his entire football career, the University of Kentucky quarterback had never been injured severely enough to require surgery before going down with what was later determined to be a torn patellar tendon in his left knee during the third quarter of UK’s game against Eastern Michigan. An impressive start to his second year under center — he’d completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns — was cut short after only six full periods of play.
“The rehab stuff” was new to him, he told reporters Saturday, and there was a brief point in time that he didn’t want to deal with it.
“It was really hard for me to get over, to know that I got injured,” Wilson said. “… I was like, ‘I just want to be away,’” Wilson said. “’I don’t want to be bothered, I don’t want to do any of those things.’”
Taking some time to himself put his rehab a little behind schedule at the onset, but it helped refresh Wilson’s mind and was ultimately the right choice for him in terms of plotting a return to the field, which is expected to occur when the Wildcats open fall camp in August. Wilson doesn’t have a target return date in mind, however: “I’m just taking it each day at a time,” he said.
During UK’s allotted practice periods, Wilson is throwing the ball around and taking as many mental reps as possible with his fellow quarterbacks. That extra work is on top of class time, his regular strength and conditioning training as well as the rehab he’s doing to rebuild his quad, the area most affected by the tear.
The 6-foot-3 signal-caller has bulked up since the start of last season; he says he’s at 215 pounds, about 12 pounds heavier than his listed weight entering the 2019 campaign. He stepped on a scale recently and was shocked to see that number.
“Coach (Corey Edmond) has been doing a good job trying to get me ready, getting my lower half stronger and my upper body stronger on top of rehab,” Wilson said. “I’ve been putting in some work.”
Kentucky’s 2020 season opener is scheduled for Sept. 5 against, ironically, Eastern Michigan. Whether or not Wilson is healthy enough to start that game, there will be plenty of nervous energy coursing through his veins: Aug. 30, the Monday of that same week, is the scheduled due date for his first child.
Former UK standouts Josh Allen and Lynn Bowden spoke at length during their time in the program about how much more motivated they became after having children. If returning to the game from injury wasn’t enough reason for Wilson, he found more.
“I have a lot of things to look forward to,” Wilson said. “… I know being a father is going to have challenges to it, but I’m not somebody that’s gonna back down or anything like that. I like the pressure sometimes and (it’ll) keep me on my toes. I’m pretty excited about it. I feel like it’s all about focus.”
Joey Gatewood
Wilson was heavily involved in the recruitment of Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood, who enrolled in January and could compete for the starting job at quarterback as early as this fall depending on how the situation surrounding his eligibility plays out.
He maintains an “open arms” approach when it comes to recruiting, whether it be for players at his position or others.
“Anything I can do to get the players that we need for this football team, this university, I’m all in for it,” Wilson said. “When Joey got here I just wanted to show him around, teach him some things about Kentucky, about the offense. He really just wanted to be around the players and see how we’re living and the things that we do.”
Lynn Bowden
The injury to Wilson eventually paved the way for Bowden, a wide receiver, to start at quarterback as part of a run-focused scheme. Bowden was 6-2 as UK’s starting quarterback and won the Paul Hornung Award after leading the best rushing offense in Wildcats history.
Wilson was asked about the direction UK’s offense took with Bowden at the helm. His first words? “Oh my.”
“I just look forward to running some of those plays he was running,” Wilson said with a grin. “Watching that whole offense, they stood together. I remember when I went down, they told me this season was for me and I feel like they did their all. They gave it their all.
“And Lynn Bowden, he’s just incredible.”
Important upcoming dates
March 27: UK Pro Day
April 11: Blue-White Spring Game
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 4:55 PM.
