There’s a life lesson to be learned from Kevin Barnes.
The senior Terp cornerback, who had his season—and Terp career— ended when he injured his shoulder against Wake Forest on Oct. 18, knows things could always be worse.
The lone returning starter in the Terp secondary coming into the season was upbeat during his first meeting with the media since the injury.
“It’s not my knee, so I can’t really wish for anything better,” said Barnes, sitting in the offensive line room with his left arm in a sling hidden under a black Terp hooded sweatshirt.
Initially, Barnes was diagnosed with breaks to his shoulder blade and collarbone and tears to his rotator cuff and labrum.
The rehabilitation time was supposed to be 5-to-6 months.
But when doctors operated on Barnes two weeks ago they found the rotator cuff and shoulder blade had healed by themselves. They inserted a pin in his collar bone and pulled up his bicep to stabilize his shoulder.
Barnes started rehab yesterday and will lose the sling next week. He hopes to begin running soon.
“They got in there, and it didn’t look nearly as bad as they thought it was,” Barnes said. “Everything went good. I’ll be back in the beginning of January to start training.”
Barnes plans to participate in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February and Maryland’s Pro Day, which is held later in the spring before the NFL Draft on April 25 and 26.
Until then, Barnes is focused on doing whatever he can to help out the team.
“I’m a young coach, I guess,” Barnes said. “Now that I’m not really in there I can focus a lot more on what the younger [defensive backs] are doing and some of the linebackers.”
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Tags: kevin barnes, terps, Terrapins