A day after going down with a gruesome leg injury against Auburn, Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell couldn’t bring himself to watch the replay. Now he’s reminded each time he opens his cell phone where he saved a photo of the play as his background.
It has only been five months since the injury – a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle – but Treadwell says he is already 80 percent healed. He looks at the photo every day to push him toward a return to full strength.
“It’s just there to keep me motivated,” Treadwell told ESPN.com. “Keep me grinding, keep me focused on what’s important right now.”
Treadwell has been participating in spring practice for the Rebels, running routes and catching passes.
If you’ve seen the grisly replay of Auburn’s Kris Frost pulling Treadwell down awkwardly from behind as he approached the goal line, it’s all the more surprising that Treadwell is out on the field running around. Trainers have even thought about letting Treadwell go at full speed, but coaches don’t want to risk anything to jeopardize his return for the Sept. 5 season opener against Tennessee-Martin.
Treadwell says the injury has helped him as a person, and he keeps the injury as his background to remind himself to stay humble.
“With the injury, it just helped me overall in life,” he said. “It changed my whole mindset and the way I think about things.
“I thought I was humble, but there are many different definitions of humble. This made me realize that there are people that really look up to me and think that I’m a role model. I try to use that in my everyday life and carry that on the field with me. I think that’s the best way to be.”
For more Ole Miss news, visit RebelGrove.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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