Dan Tavani's back after torn ACL

[terrierbob]

Great for pass coverage, hope it's OK for this young man's health. He has a passion and the leadership we need in the secondary. I'm no MD, but this is a little unnerving.

http://goupstate.com/article/20071101/NEWS/711010351/1001/SPORTS02

TAVANI REJOINS TERRIERS

At a drill station to begin football practice earlier this week, Wofford defensive coordinator Nate Woody was stunned to see the familiar No. 7 black jersey step in to take a turn.

"Dan?" he said. "You back already?"

Yes, three weeks after suffering a torn ACL that should have ended his career, Dan Tavani is on the field again for the Terriers. Wearing a brace on his left knee, he went though his third day of full practice Wednesday with the rest of the team.

"Everybody's kind of surprised," Wofford head coach Mike Ayers said. "He wants to finish out and I want him to be able to finish out. Whether it's one play or 100 plays, that's what he wants to do. It's a boost for all of us."

Teammates have watched in amazement. Tavani went down Oct. 6 at The Citadel, but there he was running around and making plays at practice. He said he worked out constantly to strengthen the muscles around the injured knee in order to help the Terriers make a charge at a Southern Conference championship.

Running backs Brian Whitehurst and Mike Rucker, both sidelined with injury and illness, respectively, were among those who talked about Tavani as they watched the all-conference free safety take reps Wednesday with the second-team defense.

Rucker: "I wonder what kind of long-term effects this will have on his knee."

Whitehurst: "I don't think he cares."

Read the full article here:
http://goupstate.com/article/20071101/NEWS/711010351/1001/SPORTS02

[HiHiYikas]

My sister, a basketball player, scored her 1000th collegiate point with a torn ACL and a very sophisticated brace. We were all very nervous when she decided to keep playing, but the season was old enough to disqualify her from getting a medical redshirt.

It turned out to be a good decision. Her defense wasn't 100% at any point during the remainder of the season, though.

I hope this turns out to be a good decision for Tavani, too.

[GSUhooligan]

What's with team leaders getting better for GSU? First Antonio Miller, then Edwards, now Tavani.....why can't they stay hurt for just one more week. :D

[LeopardFan04]

There was an interview with Dan during halftime of the Lafayette-Fordham (?) game. He talked about rehabbing at Lafayette, and how he had planned on getting back so soon. Best of luck to him and the Terriers.

[terrierbob]

What's with team leaders getting better for GSU? First Antonio Miller, then Edwards, now Tavani.....why can't they stay hurt for just one more week. :D


I'll see you and raise you one. :D :D

[Franks Tanks]

You can play with a torn ACL as long as there is little other damage to the knee such as cartlidge- whic many times does come with a torn ACl. John Elways tore his ACL in high school and never got it repaired as surgical techniques werent as advanced in those days. As long as you have good brace you are ok, it will hoever cause cartildge wear.

[Franks Tanks]

Also Frank Taviani, Dan's father and Lafayette head coach for those who dont know, has never been very sympathetic toward injured players. I wonder if seeing his son get injured will soften him up a bit in this area?

[Go...gate]

Also Frank Taviani, Dan's father and Lafayette head coach for those who dont know, has never been very sympathetic toward injured players. I wonder if seeing his son get injured will soften him up a bit in this area?

I'll hazard a guess he feels a good bit different as a father and this will give him a little perspective. I remember Bo Schembechler admitting his own epiphany after his son injured his vertabrae while playing for Western Michigan. After that, he realized that all those kids are someone's son.

[Grizzaholic]

It seems to me he could really hurt his life after football if he plays now and doesn't do the rehab. Sometimes it is better to look at the big picture and not the here and now.

[Franks Tanks]

It seems to me he could really hurt his life after football if he plays now and doesn't do the rehab. Sometimes it is better to look at the big picture and not the here and now.

He'll be fine--he cant really hurt himself much worse at this point or else the docs wouldnt let him play. He will probably get surgery after the season anyhow.

[Grizzaholic]

Think so? Is there a way to 'fake it', for a better term, to make it seem less of a problem than it really is? When the coach says that he doesn't think his player really cares that is a big problem right there. The player should care and the coach should probably care more than the player. But I guess that is why you have doctors on the staff. Just as long as they are better than the one's on Varsity Blues.

[Franks Tanks]

Think so? Is there a way to 'fake it', for a better term, to make it seem less of a problem than it really is? When the coach says that he doesn't think his player really cares that is a big problem right there. The player should care and the coach should probably care more than the player. But I guess that is why you have doctors on the staff. Just as long as they are better than the one's on Varsity Blues.

Doctors have more influence that you may think-- Varsity blues is fantsay and exageration. You can probbaly fake your way into playing with certain injuries, but not with an ACL as MRI's will show the extent of the structural damage. It could have been a partial ACL tear and then of course you risk teating it all the way. It it was already a complete tear than the issue is increased flexion in the knee, and the possibility of cartlidge damage. If the doctor feels comfortable that the risk of further injury is acceptable, then its really up to the player. John Elways played his entire FB career without an ACL. The surgeon who did my ACL surgery went years before getting his repaired- until in reached the point where the benefits would out weigh the negatives.

[Grizzaholic]

Doctors have more influence that you may think-- Varsity blues is fantsay and exageration. You can probbaly fake your way into playing with certain injuries, but not with an ACL as MRI's will show the extent of the structural damage. It could have been a partial ACL tear and then of course you risk teating it all the way. It it was already a complete tear than the issue is increased flexion in the knee, and the possibility of cartlidge damage. If the doctor feels comfortable that the risk of further injury is acceptable, then its really up to the player. John Elways played his entire FB career without an ACL. The surgeon who did my ACL surgery went years before getting his repaired- until in reached the point where the benefits would out weigh the rewards.

WOW! Everything i didn't know but now do. Thanks

[Franks Tanks]

WOW! Everything i didn't know but now do. Thanks

Am I sensing some sarcasm here?

[Grizzaholic]

Am I sensing some sarcasm here?

No. No sarcasm from me.

[Franks Tanks]

No. No sarcasm from me.

Ok good xnodx, sometimes its hard to tell on a message board.

[PeacockRaider]

I tore my acl and 60% of the meniscus my soph year on Iona's concrete they called turf. I had the surgery and then rehabbed, which really sucks, and was able to play my remaining two years on it although it never felt 100%. Only to tear it again playing intramural basketball my senior year. At that point I decided it wasn't worth going through that again as my competitive days were over, and never got it fixed. I live a normal life with an office job and can work out and run, you just have to be carefull, espcially after a couple of beverages:D . I just dread one day I may need a knee replacement. I couldn't imagine playing football on it, but best of luck to Dan, I can't blame him for giving it a shot. Hey Franks Tanks, who did your surgery?

[Grizzaholic]

I tore my acl and 60% of the meniscus my soph year on Iona's concrete they called turf. I had the surgery and then rehabbed, which really sucks, and was able to play my remaining two years on it although it never felt 100%. Only to tear it again playing intramural basketball my senior year. At that point I decided it wasn't worth going through that again as my competitive days were over, and never got it fixed. I live a normal life with an office job and can work out and run, you just have to be carefull, espcially after a couple of beverages:D . I just dread one day I may need a knee replacement. I couldn't imagine playing football on it, but best of luck to Dan, I can't blame him for giving it a shot. Hey Franks Tanks, who did your surgery?

If you hunt, how does it hold up hiking up and down the mountains? Dragging dead weight?

[Baldy]

Good for Tavani, but there is no way he'll be even close to 100%. The ACL tear won't hurt his straight away speed much, but his lateral movement will be severely limited (and he's going to try to tackle Jayson Foster with a ripped up ACL? xconfusedx ).
Unless his back-up is horrible, it makes me wonder if his return will be more of a detriment than a boost to the Wofford's defense. xeyebrowx

[terrierbob]

Good for Tavani, but there is no way he'll be even close to 100%. The ACL tear won't hurt his straight away speed much, but his lateral movement will be severely limited (and he's going to try to tackle Jayson Foster with a ripped up ACL? xconfusedx ).
Unless his back-up is horrible, it makes me wonder if his return will be more of a detriment than a boost to the Wofford's defense. xeyebrowx

Doubt he'll play much, but the boost will be to the team's spirit.

[blueballs]

Doubt he'll play much, but the boost will be to the team's spirit.

...and you never know, that may be greater than what he could contribute on the field.

I tore mine and I can tell you without reservation there is no way in hell I would have tried to play a sport as fast and as dangerous as D1 football prior to the reconstructive surgery. If he even steps on the field he is a stud and has my never ending respect.

[Franks Tanks]

I tore my acl and 60% of the meniscus my soph year on Iona's concrete they called turf. I had the surgery and then rehabbed, which really sucks, and was able to play my remaining two years on it although it never felt 100%. Only to tear it again playing intramural basketball my senior year. At that point I decided it wasn't worth going through that again as my competitive days were over, and never got it fixed. I live a normal life with an office job and can work out and run, you just have to be carefull, espcially after a couple of beverages:D . I just dread one day I may need a knee replacement. I couldn't imagine playing football on it, but best of luck to Dan, I can't blame him for giving it a shot. Hey Franks Tanks, who did your surgery?

Dr. Carl Weiss, He is Lafayette's team surgeon and he works with Cordinated Health System here in the Lehigh Valley. I have heard everything thing from very good to poor reviews about his talents but im pretty satisfied. I cant imagine tearing it again, I had an injury on my non-ACl tear near once and myself and my doctor were concered that I may have done it to me other knee as well. Thankfully it ended up being minor but i couldnt imagine going through it twice. xbawlingx

[ngineer]

Not all torn ACL's are the same...I seen a number of athletes play shortly after suffering the injury. As someone else pointed out, the amount of 'collateral damage' suffered by the overall joint is a big factor. Also, the kind of use the joint will go through also comes into play. The guy is a senior and knows he's not going to the NFL. It's the last stand and he's going to use all his chips and not leave any on the table. With today's medicine, I'm sure he can have surgically repaired later whatever damage is inflicted. It's a collision game and we who played accept the fact that in our 50's we're going to creak and ache and have deformities. My wife thinks we're nuts and has no sympathy for me (she says) at night as I pop my cartlidge back in place at my sternum, or icing my knee after mowing the grass; but, I tell her I'm not looking for sympathy, I loved the game and accepted the shots with full consent...xnodx
Hail Dan!!xbowx

[woffordgrad94]

I think this whole situation with Dan has the main goal of trying to give the team some extra determination. As someone said before, Dan likely won't play much, but his mere return to a Wofford uniform along with just a few plays on the field might really inspire the team.