As best as I can tell, J.T. Thomas has a “neck thing.” By the nature of my job, nondescript injuries and fuzzy prognosises set off alarms. (Remember Reed Williams?) And when the nondescript and/or fuzzy is connected to the spine or the neck, you can understand how and why suspicion might mount. Football being a collision sport, necks and spines being things with which you do not trifle, it’s natural to wonder and worry.
The neck thing has been described as a bruise and soreness and, to be fair, Thomas has spoken openly about whatever it is that’s bothering him, stating he’s just working through it, insisting he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season. Yet JT3 didn’t do a whole lot during preseason camp … and that came after he was bothered throughout the spring by — all together now — a neck thing.
During Saturday’s scrimmage, Thomas wore a brace/neck roll I had never seen him wear before. He did very little in the scrimmage and afterward I asked about the senior starting weak side linebacker from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Stewart said the limited participation was due in part to knowing what Thomas could do and in part to preserving/rehabilitating him. Thomas was even encouraged to get in there and bang around and rattle some things to see how it feels and responds. I found that, at the least, promising.
“It’s a pain thing now, and that’s all right,” Stewart said.
“He’s done very well and it’ll come. Hopefully in two weeks – Sept. 4 – he’ll be ready to go.”
Hopefully, sure. Before that, though, several remarked that maybe this wasn’t yet a concern, but it was something to monitor. Neck things can linger … and a linebacker puts his neck out there every play. You could also argue Thomas is the most valuable player on WVU’s defense — with a pro career to protect. He’s a tackler of tailbacks, a harasser or quarterbacks, an invader of backfields, one of the few players who stays on the field every play, no matter the down and distance.
It’s a potential setback the Daily Athenaeum was compelled to ponder and examine this morning. Headline: Is J.T.’s injury more serious?
So it may not be serious, but it is reoccurring. If you’ve ever had one of those continual injuries that just don’t seem to go away, you can surely understand how annoying they can be.
Sure, players can still play with injuries such as those, but they usually don’t at full strength. They tend to be hesitant, and with good reason.
Even once the player begins to feel comfortable again, with as dangerous and fragile as a neck injury can be, the injury will usually eventually return.
Will this be another Reed Williams-type injury that continues to reoccur throughout the remainder of the season and cause Thomas to miss time every now and then?
Thomas doesn’t think so. He repeatedly emphasized he’ll be fine for the season.
But, if his injury wasn’t able to fully heal after nearly four months of rest during the summer, will it ever be fully cured, especially once the season starts and Thomas tries to play through it?
Highly unlikely.
