The college athlete
Fall signified a new start for Kyle Pugh.
The middle linebacker, who is in his sixth year at Northern Illinois as a redshirt senior, suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury last fall after only two games, requiring surgery for the second time in as many years.
He ranked second in tackles in 2018 after a previous comeback. He suffered a similarly devastating ruptured biceps tendon in 2017, missing all but four games.
So while there’s hope the MidAmerican Conference will play games in the spring — or perhaps even this fall, as the Toledo Blade reported the conference is considering a six- or eight-game schedule that would begin Oct. 24 — Pugh is playing the waiting game yet again.
“The bright spot of overcoming an injury is knowing you’ll be ready for the next season,” Pugh said. “I took a lot of time to get my body back right, get it ready health-wise, for the season. It was hard for me mentally (to hear the fall season was postponed).”
The MAC was the first FBS conference to announce it would not play fall sports this fall, starting a domino effect that included NCAA announcements about fall championships for other sports as well as postponements by the Big Ten and Pac-12. The Big Ten last week reversed course, announcing it will play a fall season beginning Oct. 23 or 24.
Pugh is hungry to tackle opponents, for sure. But he also misses the tradition and camaraderie that sprouts from autumnal college football Saturdays.
“Just the atmosphere on game day,” he said. “Having a hundred different guys with the same goal in mind, knowing we’ve all been working for this day. The excitement, the butterflies. It’s a different feeling, and it’s hard to explain. Getting ready, lacing your cleats up, getting taped up and the whole pregame routine. It’s something if you don’t miss until you can’t do it.”
Counting on the lessons of patience and discipline he learned during his injuries, Pugh said he’ll continue to keep his eye on a season. NIU practices now are simple workouts as the team bides time until the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs and the Huskies can resume their playing careers.
“Through my adversity, I’ve been prepared for this,” Pugh said. “I’ve been waiting my turn for a while now. The goals I came into college with are very much ahead of me. I still have high hopes and aspirations of doing big things. I’m still very confident. I just have to prove to myself I can do what I put my mind to. That still stands today. It’s just not the same timeline.”
“The bright spot of overcoming an injury is knowing you’ll be ready for the next season. I took a lot of time to get my body back right, get it ready health-wise, for the season. It was hard for me mentally (to hear the fall season was postponed).” — Kyle Pugh, NIU redshirt freshman