South Carolina football’s Sherrod Greene ready for healthy final season

COLUMBIA – South Carolina defensive coordinator  Clayton White entered spring apply with a well-recognized precedence: Get Sherrod Greene to sport days.

The purpose wasn’t  just for himself as Greene’s place coach at linebacker, but additionally the directive from second-year coach Shane Beamer.  Greene has had the unlucky reoccurring theme the final two springs, regardless of there being greater than 5 months between the 15 allotted practices in the course of the spring and the season.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Greene, who determined to benefit from a sixth yr with the Gamecocks, has been restricted the final two springs as he has been recovering from two separate season-ending accidents – a fractured hip in 2020 and a damaged proper ankle final season.

“It was powerful man, as a result of the yr earlier than that I had broke my hip,” Greene stated. “Simply having back-to-back (season-ending) accidents like that, it took a toll on me.”

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Within the 2020 season opener in opposition to Tennessee, Greene suffered the hip harm that ended his season. After 11 months of rehab and restricted reps in apply to make sure his well being, he was off to an important begin to the 2021 season.

Then on the second play from scrimmage at Georgia, Greene’s proper leg gave approach. One other season-ending harm and extra grueling restoration efforts to get again.

Resorting to the sideline throughout his restoration has been powerful, he stated, however he credited his assist system for getting by way of and realizing that each one that point was a studying course of.

“I had good assist in my nook with my household, my mother and them saved my head on straight. It wasn’t as dangerous as it might have appeared,” Greene stated, “but it surely was trial for me.”

 Greene has solely performed in two-plus video games mixed since 2020.

Regardless of that, Greene touts as a lot expertise for the Gamecocks’ protection as a lot as anybody, beginning a few video games as a freshman in 2017. He has 138 profession tackles, all however eight of these scattered by way of his first three seasons.

“He’s a coronary heart and soul type of man,” White stated. “You need him to have the ability to pour himself out on the soccer subject on Saturdays in the course of the fall.”

White stated Greene by no means totally practiced final yr when the Gamecocks reported in August   and first couple of weeks of the season, simply to maintain him as wholesome as attainable and forestall additional accidents. Beamer and his workers restricted Greene the whole spring, even in the course of the annual Garnet and Black Recreation.

In constrained motion within the spring sport, Greene nonetheless had the third-most tackles for the Garnet, additional highlighting White’s technique.

One main purpose the workers has restricted Greene within the spring is as a result of he doesn’t maintain again as soon as his pads and helmet are on.

“He’s an final warrior type of man, so that you attempt your finest to restrict him and let’s get him to a fall, into multiple or two extra video games,” White stated. “However he’s in an important spot mentally. He’s studying one other place the place he can have one other function and assist him use his athletic means. He’s fired up, in an important spot and I like the place he’s at proper now.”

Greene stated he’s wanting ahead to a wholesome 2022 marketing campaign and what it may do for his future.

“That’s my foremost purpose is staying wholesome. I do know if I’ve a full, full season, I bought huge plans forward of me,” Greene stated. “(I’m) a bit too excited, truthfully, (to get again on the market).

“Sitting again on the sideline, watching the staff apply and simply want I could possibly be in there and contribute to the staff. The boys are wanting good proper now, so I simply wish to be part of that.”

Cory Diaz covers the South Carolina Gamecocks for The Greenville Information as a part of the USA TODAY Community. Comply with his work for all issues Gamecocks on Twitter: @CoryDiaz_TGN. Obtained questions relating to South Carolina athletics? Ship them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.