K'Lavon Chaisson Recovery

[Herb]

Can't wait to see him chasing Gumps like scared rabbits.

 

 

 

[Herb]

Inside the return of LSU pass rusher K'Lavon Chaisson, a potential star coming back from injury

• BY BROOKS KUBENA | BKUBENA@THEADVOCATE.COM
•  
  • MAR 9, 2019 - 12:52 PM

 

 

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LSU offensive linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (4) participates in a drill, Thursday, March 15, 2018, during spring football practice at LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

Advocate staff photo by HILARY SCHEINUK

 

Brooks Kubena

K'Lavon Chaisson launched from his stance inside the LSU practice facility.

He cut right around a tackling dummy. Left around another. He placed his left hand on the ground for balance, his purple shorts rising up past his left knee, which was wrapped in white cloth.

Tigers football coach Ed Orgeron stood a few yards away, barking: "C'mon! There you go! Dip!"

Chaisson burst toward the final dummy, right arm raised to swipe the faux quarterback's prosthetic arm.

He shoved the dummy effortlessly downward with his left arm, as a truck might knock over a mailbox,never stopping his pace as he jogged to the back of the line.

The promising pass rusher made his return Thursday, practicing for the first time since the 6-foot-4, 238-pound sophomore tore his ACL in the waning minutes of the 2018 season opener against Miami.

Chaisson had recorded five tackles and a sack in the 33-17 win over the Hurricanes, showcasing the talent that landed him on the 2017 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team.

Former linebacker Devin White had predicted Chaisson would break Arden Key's single-season school sack record. Instead, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda spent the rest of the season concocting a pass rush that finished 32nd nationally (34 total sacks) and seventh in the SEC, without Chaisson.

Now, Chaisson is less than six months into his post-surgery recovery — another player who has benefitted from the innovative ACL procedures of the LSU sports medicine staff — but Orgeron said he's proceeding with caution with Chaisson by withholding him from contact drills until preseason camp in August.

"He's really looked good in the drills we've been doing," Orgeron said. "It gives us confidence that we need in the pass rush. He's gonna have an excellent year."

Chaisson spent his recovery mostly away from the public eye, sparingly providing updates on his personal Twitter account along with daily posts of Bible verses that offered a window into his personal feelings.

"I'll forever be in good spirits," Chaisson tweeted Sept. 6. "Life/God is too good for me to be feeling sorry for myself. God knows what he is doing. Smiles will forever be on my face as long as I'm living. Plus, now I get a handicap sticker!"

But by the end of February, tones of patience changed to urgency.

"I gotta make (something) shake this year," Chaisson posted on March 2. "Time runnin' out."

On that day, Chaisson met with his personal trainer in Houston, using LSU's Mardi Gras break to work out in his hometown for the first time since his injury.

"He shocked me when he came back," said Brandon Jordan, a former defensive line coach at Austin Peay who now runs Trench Performance. "He's looking real good. He's looking in real form."

Athletes working with personal trainers is common. The NCAA limits the number of hours players can spend with their coaches at university facilities, so athletes flock to established trainers in the offseason to gain a competitive edge.

Jordan, an Archbishop Shaw graduate, started training players in Uptown New Orleans about five years ago; once LSU outside linebackers Andre Anthony and Michael Divinity started bringing their teammates, Jordan was working out most of the pass rushers on the Tigers' roster.

Chaisson has worked three years with Jordan, who moved to Houston and now trains players like Denver Broncos defensive end Bradley Chubb and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

Jordan said Chaisson has the strength, power and speed — "the NFL prototype ability." They just had to brush up Chaisson's technique as he emerged from his injury.

With plastic placeholders scattered on the artificial turf, Jordan challenged Chaisson with a padded sleeve, as if he were an offensive tackle. He ordered Chaisson to keep his elbows tight, his shoulders tight on the turn. He tested Chaisson's eyes, forcing him to choose when to use different pass rush moves, like swiping with an arm or bull-rushing straight through the blocker.

They worked on Chaisson's hand placement in another drill, where two people stood, holding blue blocking pads at their chests, and Chaisson ran laterally by, slamming each pad with the palm of his right hand.

"He's moving good," Jordan said. "He's cutting good. He's turning the corner good. He's looking good out there."

There's a long list of LSU athletes who were highly productive following their ACL surgeries, including quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who tore his ACL in the 2013 regular-season finale against Arkansas, then returned three months later for the school's pro day.

Running back Stevan Ridley tore his ACL during spring practice in 2009 and was named first-team All-SEC in 2010 after rushing for 1,147 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Last season, Nick Brossette, who tore his ACL in 2015, led LSU in rushing with 1,039 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Chaisson has begun his on-field return, where he'll have another crack at Key's sack record and joining previous successful LSU defenders who've made their mark on their way to the NFL.

"He definitely has that capability," Jordan said. "Like I told you, he has all the tools. He's getting better and better every year. Last year, I definitely seen it, because I worked with him right before the season, and he was definitely ready."