Brian Cushing (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
No one is questioning Brian Cushing's toughness and ability between the lines, but one of the knocks on Cushing has been his injury issues.
Let's review: [ from NFLDraftScout.com: ]
- Missed more than half of his freshman season (2005) with a shoulder dislocation
- Missed spring drills in 2006 due to arthroscopic shoulder surgery
- 2007: "He missed a portion of spring drills with a hamstring injury, and at the conclusion of camp underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. [He] suffered a bone chip and high ankle sprain vs. Idaho in the season opener and two games later, re-injured the ankle in the Washington State clash, missing the next four games.
- "Having missed more than a third of his freshman and junior seasons combined due to a rash of injuries, he underwent a rigorous training and nutritional program before the 2008 campaign."
- 2008: "For the third consecutive spring, Cushing was on the sidelines, this time due to arthroscopic ankle surgery. He wore a cast for close to a month after breaking a bone in his hand vs. Oregon State and suffered a shoulder contusion vs. Arizona State, but still started all 13 games at strong-side linebacker."
Is there a trend here? He may be only 22 years old but he already seems to have the wear and tear of a 4 year NFL veteran. Was it mere coincidence that I just saw a vignette on NFL Network about Trev Alberts, or am I reading way too much into these things?
The Texas certainly seem non-concerned about Cushing's injury history. Here's what Texans defensive coordinator Frank Bush said yesterday:
“We discussed those things; we went through them. Those are things that occurred when he was a youngster. It’s part of the job, I would say. It’s part of the job being a linebacker – you’re going to have some nicks and bruises and whatnot. But, overall he was a clean kid medically – just some of the normal things that other linebackers have had.”
Texans fans hope he's right but it doesn't sound all that normal to me.
As a first round pick it's essential that Cushing remain healthy, and It will be interesting to see how his past approach to strength training and diet meshes with Ray Wright and Roberta Anding's program with the Texans.
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