Injured South Carolina recruit is on the fast track to recovery
December 15, 2017
For a high school football player who suffered a major knee injury a few months before graduation, Lavonte Valentine couldn’t sound more upbeat.
The soon-to-be South Carolina Gamecock spoke to The State on Wednesday afternoon shortly after his latest physical therapy session. It’s in these visits that Valentine becomes more and more encouraged.
“I’m very surprised,” Valentine said. “I have full range of motion already, and I’m nine weeks out.”
Valentine, a running back from Melbourne, Florida, who committed to USC in July, tore the ACL in his left knee in October. Surgery came shortly thereafter, but the plan was never altered.
Sure, Valentine wouldn’t be able to finish his senior season at Melbourne Central Catholic High School, but he was still scheduled to enroll early at Carolina. Valentine will sign his national letter of intent on Wednesday. He’ll officially arrive in Columbia next month.
“Through the whole recovery process, the (USC) coaches have talked to me, told me to stay strong,” Valentine said. “Nothing changed. It wasn’t like they talked to me one month and the next month they didn’t. I talked to them almost every single week actually. They were just saying, ‘We know you can get over this.’ They just stayed true to their word.”
On Dec. 7, Valentine went public with a status update, revealing on Twitter that he “freaked out” his doctor – in a good way.
“He was just looking at my leg,” Valentine recalled, “and he was like, ‘Let me see how you can bend it.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ He thought I had hurt it again or something. He took an X-ray and he was like, ‘Everything is healing up good.’ But his face, he was just shook.”
Valentine perhaps wasn’t getting these kinds of reactions the last time he went through this process. He lost his sophomore season at Melbourne Central due to tearing his right ACL as a freshman.
Since repeating the injury, Valentine looks at history to gauge where his rehab stands.
“From my right knee,” he said, “I believe I was walking in three months. But this time I was walking in two months. I know if I work hard I’ll be good for the fall.”
Valentine, despite limited action, did enough to earn himself a three-star rating by national recruiting services. The 6-foot, 188-pounder is the No. 15 all-purpose back in the country, according to 247Sports. His college offer list included Oregon, Southern Cal, LSU and Florida.
Valentine ran for 884 yards (9.6 per carry) and caught six passes for 175 yards as a junior. He scored 14 touchdowns as Melbourne Central went 11-1 and advanced to the state semifinals.
Last spring, Valentine became a Florida state champion in the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 10.61 seconds.
He has a personal best 40-yard dash time of 4.3 seconds.
“When I came back from my first knee injury, I actually got faster,” Valentine said. “Before I injured myself, I ran a 4.4. When I came back, I ran a 4.3. So hopefully I run a 4.1.”
This spring, though, he won’t be pushed for much.
“Coach (Will) Muschamp was saying I’ll be in the running back meetings and all the meetings the team has and stuff,” Valentine said. “But I’ll be with Mr. Clint (Haggard), the head trainer, doing physical therapy with him. So every time they’re practicing or whatever, I’ll be at physical therapy.”
Valentine is on the fast track back to full-strength. Since it’s been a bit, what does Lavonte Valentine look like at full strength?
“Oh man,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t even know how to explain that. My film really tells it all, what I can do on the football field.
“There’s not really a lot that I have to say about that, but I know that when I’m on the field, it’s gonna be a show.”
December 15, 2017
For a high school football player who suffered a major knee injury a few months before graduation, Lavonte Valentine couldn’t sound more upbeat.
The soon-to-be South Carolina Gamecock spoke to The State on Wednesday afternoon shortly after his latest physical therapy session. It’s in these visits that Valentine becomes more and more encouraged.
“I’m very surprised,” Valentine said. “I have full range of motion already, and I’m nine weeks out.”
Valentine, a running back from Melbourne, Florida, who committed to USC in July, tore the ACL in his left knee in October. Surgery came shortly thereafter, but the plan was never altered.
Sure, Valentine wouldn’t be able to finish his senior season at Melbourne Central Catholic High School, but he was still scheduled to enroll early at Carolina. Valentine will sign his national letter of intent on Wednesday. He’ll officially arrive in Columbia next month.
“Through the whole recovery process, the (USC) coaches have talked to me, told me to stay strong,” Valentine said. “Nothing changed. It wasn’t like they talked to me one month and the next month they didn’t. I talked to them almost every single week actually. They were just saying, ‘We know you can get over this.’ They just stayed true to their word.”
On Dec. 7, Valentine went public with a status update, revealing on Twitter that he “freaked out” his doctor – in a good way.
“He was just looking at my leg,” Valentine recalled, “and he was like, ‘Let me see how you can bend it.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ He thought I had hurt it again or something. He took an X-ray and he was like, ‘Everything is healing up good.’ But his face, he was just shook.”
Valentine perhaps wasn’t getting these kinds of reactions the last time he went through this process. He lost his sophomore season at Melbourne Central due to tearing his right ACL as a freshman.
Since repeating the injury, Valentine looks at history to gauge where his rehab stands.
“From my right knee,” he said, “I believe I was walking in three months. But this time I was walking in two months. I know if I work hard I’ll be good for the fall.”
Valentine, despite limited action, did enough to earn himself a three-star rating by national recruiting services. The 6-foot, 188-pounder is the No. 15 all-purpose back in the country, according to 247Sports. His college offer list included Oregon, Southern Cal, LSU and Florida.
Valentine ran for 884 yards (9.6 per carry) and caught six passes for 175 yards as a junior. He scored 14 touchdowns as Melbourne Central went 11-1 and advanced to the state semifinals.
Last spring, Valentine became a Florida state champion in the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 10.61 seconds.
He has a personal best 40-yard dash time of 4.3 seconds.
“When I came back from my first knee injury, I actually got faster,” Valentine said. “Before I injured myself, I ran a 4.4. When I came back, I ran a 4.3. So hopefully I run a 4.1.”
This spring, though, he won’t be pushed for much.
“Coach (Will) Muschamp was saying I’ll be in the running back meetings and all the meetings the team has and stuff,” Valentine said. “But I’ll be with Mr. Clint (Haggard), the head trainer, doing physical therapy with him. So every time they’re practicing or whatever, I’ll be at physical therapy.”
Valentine is on the fast track back to full-strength. Since it’s been a bit, what does Lavonte Valentine look like at full strength?
“Oh man,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t even know how to explain that. My film really tells it all, what I can do on the football field.
“There’s not really a lot that I have to say about that, but I know that when I’m on the field, it’s gonna be a show.”