OL Kaleb Slaven //
Photo by: Michael Hickey
Spring Football Update: The Long Road Back from Season-Ending Injuries
March 21, 2019 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. – After taking a few months off from the grind of the fall football season, most Ball State players are itching to get back on the field for spring practice. A handful of players are even more excited than usual to be playing football again this spring.
Antwan Davis, Caleb Huntley, Mitch Larsen, Jake McKenzie and Kaleb Slaven either sat out the entire fall with an injury or suffered a season-ending injury at some point during the season. However, all five have made it back to the field to join their teammates for spring practice.
Davis, a redshirt senior from St. John, Indiana, was in the mix for playing time at wide receiver heading into the start of the 2018 season. He tallied one catch in the opening win over Central Connecticut but would not make another catch the rest of the year. In the first practice leading into the second game at Notre Dame, Davis made a move and felt his foot crack. He found out later that day he had a broken foot and was out for the year.
Davis had surgery the very next day and was stuck in bed for two weeks. The next step was a cast, followed by a boot. When he finally made a return to practice, he took on a coaching role with the rest of the receivers.
"That's the only role I could play, and I loved playing it because I love this team," Davis said. "It's obviously a team game and if I can't play, I want to be able to help the players who can play."
Davis was cleared to begin cutting drills right around the start of winter break. He participated in the team's winter workouts and has been a full participant in spring practice. He gives the wide receiver unit, which is arguably the deepest unit on the team, another quality option.
"It's wonderful to be back on the field," Davis said. "Coaches, family and friends helped me through this process, and they invited me with open arms, and they couldn't wait for me to get back. I'm glad to be back on the field and be playing again."
Huntley, a junior from Atlanta, Georgia, was a key member of the Cardinals as a true freshman running back in 2017. He led the team in rushing yards that year and became only the second freshman in BSU history to rush for at least 1,000 yards. Huntley was expected to be an impact player again in 2018, only to have his season shut down after the Northern Illinois game in early October.
Just like Davis, Huntley was dealing with a foot injury. This injury, though, was a nagging one that had been bothering Huntley since before the start of preseason camp in 2017. He played through the injury during his freshman campaign, but the pain got to the point that he had to shut it down in the middle of 2018.
"My spirit got a little down, but through that it just pushed me harder to grind and get back all my stuff," Huntley said. "I feel like I'm better for it now."
High expectations await Huntley, who is now listed as the number one running back on the spring depth chart. He is looking forward to producing another big season in 2019.
Larsen was a contributor at safety and on special teams in 2018 before suffering a season-ending injury at Indiana on Sept. 15. The redshirt junior from Fairfield, Ohio, never had an injury as a high school player. In his freshman season at Ball State in 2016, Larsen experienced a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the final four games of the season.
That injury lingered throughout 2017 and 2018 before a hit against Indiana finally caused him to get his shoulder fixed.
"Definitely, the first night was not fun," Larsen said. "I was in a lot of pain, but I've been working my butt off in the training room. [Associate Athletic Trainer] Shawn Comer is getting me right. It's been a long process."
At the start of the spring season, Larsen has been dressed in a blue jersey which means no contact. He is hoping to replace it with the white jersey that the rest of the defensive players wear before the end of the spring season.
One player who never had the chance to line up in 2018 was offensive lineman Jake McKenzie. He suffered a torn labrum in one of the early spring practices last year and did not get cleared to play in the fall. The redshirt sophomore from Indianapolis, Indiana, had surgery in May 2018 to fix the problem. McKenzie was seen most days during preseason camp and fall practices along the sidelines working on recovery and conditioning drills.
"I felt pretty good about today and I feel like I'm making good progress on the way to where I want to be," McKenzie said after practice on Tuesday. "It's been a long road, but it's worth it. I'm glad I can finally get back out here and be doing what I love."
McKenzie is back to 100 percent and running with the second team offensive line at left tackle in spring practice. He is hoping he can work in some time at right tackle to make himself more marketable to the coaching staff. McKenzie is also working with a new position coach and former Ball State offensive lineman, Colin Johnson.
"Coach Johnson is absolutely amazing," McKenzie said. "He's very knowledgeable and easy to connect with. I'm just really excited for our future with him."
Fellow offensive lineman Kaleb Slaven has been especially snake-bitten over the last two years and really even longer than that. The redshirt junior from Muncie, Indiana, missed the final three games of the 2017 season with a broken foot. He suffered the same injury in 2018 leading into week four against Western Kentucky and did not play the rest of the season. The foot injury dates back to high school when he originally broke his foot playing basketball for Delta High School.
Slaven did not have surgery on his foot in high school, electing to let the bone heal itself. After the injury happened again in 2017 in the Eastern Michigan game, the doctors put a screw in his foot to hopefully fix the problem. When Slaven found out he broke his foot again last fall, he had to deal with another surgery.
"I ended up getting surgery on Halloween," Slaven said. "It was a bigger surgery to secure the bone. Everything they did in there is supposed to prevent that from happening again."
Slaven went nearly two months without putting any weight on his foot and eventually transitioned to a walking boot which he finally took off in mid-January. Since that time, he has been participating in rehab drills on his feet. Slaven is a full participant in the early spring practices but is also taking care to limit himself if he has any pain in the foot. More than anything, he is ready to put on full pads and regain a starting spot at left tackle on the offensive line.
Be sure to keep an eye out for all five of these players – Davis, Huntley, Larsen, McKenzie and Slaven – during spring practice. They could very well be key contributors to the Ball State team this coming fall.
The Cardinals have practices scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday over the next several weeks. The annual Spring Game is set for Saturday, April 13 at 11 a.m. The complete spring practice schedule is listed here.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.
Antwan Davis, Caleb Huntley, Mitch Larsen, Jake McKenzie and Kaleb Slaven either sat out the entire fall with an injury or suffered a season-ending injury at some point during the season. However, all five have made it back to the field to join their teammates for spring practice.
Davis, a redshirt senior from St. John, Indiana, was in the mix for playing time at wide receiver heading into the start of the 2018 season. He tallied one catch in the opening win over Central Connecticut but would not make another catch the rest of the year. In the first practice leading into the second game at Notre Dame, Davis made a move and felt his foot crack. He found out later that day he had a broken foot and was out for the year.
Davis had surgery the very next day and was stuck in bed for two weeks. The next step was a cast, followed by a boot. When he finally made a return to practice, he took on a coaching role with the rest of the receivers."That's the only role I could play, and I loved playing it because I love this team," Davis said. "It's obviously a team game and if I can't play, I want to be able to help the players who can play."
Davis was cleared to begin cutting drills right around the start of winter break. He participated in the team's winter workouts and has been a full participant in spring practice. He gives the wide receiver unit, which is arguably the deepest unit on the team, another quality option.
"It's wonderful to be back on the field," Davis said. "Coaches, family and friends helped me through this process, and they invited me with open arms, and they couldn't wait for me to get back. I'm glad to be back on the field and be playing again."
Huntley, a junior from Atlanta, Georgia, was a key member of the Cardinals as a true freshman running back in 2017. He led the team in rushing yards that year and became only the second freshman in BSU history to rush for at least 1,000 yards. Huntley was expected to be an impact player again in 2018, only to have his season shut down after the Northern Illinois game in early October.
Just like Davis, Huntley was dealing with a foot injury. This injury, though, was a nagging one that had been bothering Huntley since before the start of preseason camp in 2017. He played through the injury during his freshman campaign, but the pain got to the point that he had to shut it down in the middle of 2018.
"My spirit got a little down, but through that it just pushed me harder to grind and get back all my stuff," Huntley said. "I feel like I'm better for it now."
High expectations await Huntley, who is now listed as the number one running back on the spring depth chart. He is looking forward to producing another big season in 2019.
Larsen was a contributor at safety and on special teams in 2018 before suffering a season-ending injury at Indiana on Sept. 15. The redshirt junior from Fairfield, Ohio, never had an injury as a high school player. In his freshman season at Ball State in 2016, Larsen experienced a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the final four games of the season.
That injury lingered throughout 2017 and 2018 before a hit against Indiana finally caused him to get his shoulder fixed.
"Definitely, the first night was not fun," Larsen said. "I was in a lot of pain, but I've been working my butt off in the training room. [Associate Athletic Trainer] Shawn Comer is getting me right. It's been a long process."
At the start of the spring season, Larsen has been dressed in a blue jersey which means no contact. He is hoping to replace it with the white jersey that the rest of the defensive players wear before the end of the spring season.
One player who never had the chance to line up in 2018 was offensive lineman Jake McKenzie. He suffered a torn labrum in one of the early spring practices last year and did not get cleared to play in the fall. The redshirt sophomore from Indianapolis, Indiana, had surgery in May 2018 to fix the problem. McKenzie was seen most days during preseason camp and fall practices along the sidelines working on recovery and conditioning drills.
"I felt pretty good about today and I feel like I'm making good progress on the way to where I want to be," McKenzie said after practice on Tuesday. "It's been a long road, but it's worth it. I'm glad I can finally get back out here and be doing what I love."
McKenzie is back to 100 percent and running with the second team offensive line at left tackle in spring practice. He is hoping he can work in some time at right tackle to make himself more marketable to the coaching staff. McKenzie is also working with a new position coach and former Ball State offensive lineman, Colin Johnson.
"Coach Johnson is absolutely amazing," McKenzie said. "He's very knowledgeable and easy to connect with. I'm just really excited for our future with him."
Fellow offensive lineman Kaleb Slaven has been especially snake-bitten over the last two years and really even longer than that. The redshirt junior from Muncie, Indiana, missed the final three games of the 2017 season with a broken foot. He suffered the same injury in 2018 leading into week four against Western Kentucky and did not play the rest of the season. The foot injury dates back to high school when he originally broke his foot playing basketball for Delta High School.
Slaven did not have surgery on his foot in high school, electing to let the bone heal itself. After the injury happened again in 2017 in the Eastern Michigan game, the doctors put a screw in his foot to hopefully fix the problem. When Slaven found out he broke his foot again last fall, he had to deal with another surgery.
"I ended up getting surgery on Halloween," Slaven said. "It was a bigger surgery to secure the bone. Everything they did in there is supposed to prevent that from happening again."
Slaven went nearly two months without putting any weight on his foot and eventually transitioned to a walking boot which he finally took off in mid-January. Since that time, he has been participating in rehab drills on his feet. Slaven is a full participant in the early spring practices but is also taking care to limit himself if he has any pain in the foot. More than anything, he is ready to put on full pads and regain a starting spot at left tackle on the offensive line.
Be sure to keep an eye out for all five of these players – Davis, Huntley, Larsen, McKenzie and Slaven – during spring practice. They could very well be key contributors to the Ball State team this coming fall.
The Cardinals have practices scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday over the next several weeks. The annual Spring Game is set for Saturday, April 13 at 11 a.m. The complete spring practice schedule is listed here.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.
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