6th Year LB Sherrod Greene Hopes To Put Injuries Behind Him

6th year senior LB Sherrod Greene is one of the most veteran members of the Gamecock football team. Unfortunately, the last two seasons have ended almost before they began. In 2020, Greene was knocked out in the season opener with a fractured hip that sidelined him for the entire season. Then, after battling back from that injury, Greene was injured on just the 2nd play of the Week 3 matchup at Georgia this year with a brutal ankle injury that required surgery and made him miss the rest of the 2021 campaign. His first 3 seasons with the Gamecocks were full of promise, with him appearing in 39 games over the past five seasons with 28 starts Greene has also collected 138 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss. With the Gamecocks fairly thin at LB again in 2022, Greene, and the team, hope he can remain healthy for his final chapter with the Gamecocks.

The media had an opportunity to meet with Greene earlier this week to hear how his injury recovery is progressing, and how his preparation for the 2022 season is going. The super senior let us know that his recovery was "right on point with the schedule" He went on to discuss his limited participation this spring. "I'm not really full contact yet...but I'm doing little 7-on-7 drills, change of direction, and stuff like that so that I can feel comfortable hitting people."

A big part of feeling 100% for Greene will be having the comfortability and mental confidence to play at full speed this fall. It can be very difficult mentally to battle back from an extended injury only to find yourself being carted off again a year later and having to face the process again, but Greene seems to have the right mindset about all of it. "It was tough man...just having back-to-back season-ending injuries like that, it can take a toll on you but I had good support in my corner...kept my head on straight...it was a good trial for me," Greene said about what the last year has been like for him.

There is some proven depth behind Greene, like Mo Kaba and Debo Williams, who Greene singled out as standouts this Spring, along with incoming freshmen Stone Blanton and Nick Emmanwori. However, it would really be ideal for Sherrod Greene to start and give the Gamecocks a lot of snaps in the 2022 season. Greene knows how huge it would be for him to have a full season to showcase his talent on the field both for this season, and his potential to make a run at making an NFL roster. "I know if I have a complete full season I got big plans ahead of me," Greene said about his focus this year.

Greene will have to wait a little longer before he's fully 100%, but he's counting down the seconds. "Sitting back on the sideline, watching the team practice and wishing I could be in there and contribute...them boys looking good right now and I just want to be a part of that."