Tyrique Stevenson blog: Shoulder rehab followed by hard work led to weight room PRs ... and defense can be special

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CB/STAR Tyrique Stevenson will have a weekly blog all season at CaneSport.com. In this edition, Stevenson talks about his recovery from shoulder surgery, the hard work the team put in this offseason, the outlook for the defense and more:

LONG 9 MONTHS SINCE SEASON ENDED

I’ve been able to be blessed through this whole nine months. I had the shoulder injury, made a decision to come back, took the entire spring off and just worked on myself and my shoulder and my body. Finally making it through the end of fall camp. Just a long nine months of hard work, dedication, staying consistent, staying mentally locked in, just being happy and being blessed to be part of everything that’s going on.

A GLANCE BACK

Last year I felt I had to prove myself. Being at Georgia, being in the box, being in the position I was in. Wasn’t hateful, I enjoyed it, I’m truly blessed and I appreciate everything. But I just felt coming into this season and actually being able to play corner, stay out there for the whole game, I had a lot to prove.

I’m a physical guy, so I feel the physical part comes naturally. I’ve always been a physical guy, even in Little League I played linebacker. JV high school I played linebacker. Just the physical part I feel will always be there, that’s never going to go away.

But a couple of hits, even on some regular tackles, you get up, have to check yourself, look at a little spot, make sure it isn’t broken. Every tackle has its own energy, emotion behind it.

It’s a physical game. Sometimes you get nicked up in practice, don’t realize it until the next day, till you’re taking a shower later that day. I could say some pains and sometimes you get cut and stuff like that you don’t feel it because your body is immune to it. But if it’s pain, it’s pain. I think you’ll feel it.

I HAD TO PUT BIGGER EMPHASIS ON NUTRITION/MY BODY

I just listen to older guys, people I know that are already in the league, listening to my college coaches. They always tell me for the profession that you do, your body is your job. The best thing to do for a team is to be available, so the more you make yourself available, you add to the team. After I started taking care of myself, making sure my body is right, that I can feel right by what I eat and what I drink and what I consume helped me feel better as a player, gave me a little more energy. I want to make sure I’m always healthy, one step ahead.

Every second of the day you have to take care of your body. If you’re going to be physical it’s a limit you’ll take yourself to. You’re physical, you’re bound to go over that limit sometimes, put yourself in crazy positions or make crazy hits or make crazy plays. The best thing for you to do is to be healthy, make sure your body, your temple is the best thing that you take care of.

This offseason, just me changing my mindset, me actually taking care of myself just gave me a lot more to give this year. I gave my all every game we had and just coming back this season it’s going to be more than what I had last year. I feel I’ll be around the field more, have a lot more energy, a lot more to put out this year than I actually did last year.

This year – every year – but this year just for me and this team it’s go hard or go home. I feel like we don’t look at that `go home’ statement too lightly. Just give my all for the team this year. I’ve been taking care of myself, elevating my training so I have a lot more to give this team.

AFTER SHOULD REHAB I SET NEW STRENGTH PR’s

I hurt it the Georgia Tech game. I made a tackle, then I came down on it. That’s when the running back 27 broke. When I swiped at his feet I kind of landed funny and that’s when it all happened. I finished that game and the next few games afterward before I actually got an MRI on it.

I actually said something about it afterward and we took the simple approach like `Maybe you didn’t do anything.’ Rehab it, no contact, simple things like that just to make sure. Is it hurting? We need to hold off and let it heal or did you really hurt it? That was the line we were playing in for a few weeks. Thought maybe it was something that bad that it would cause me to get surgery.

It’s football, so I thought just maybe I fell kind of funny, I wasn’t supposed to fall that way, stuff like that. After a week, two weeks it was still that lingering feeling, actually getting worse. So I thought I actually kind of messed myself up this time.

It turns out I tore my labrum, couple of ligaments. Had to get my collarbone shaved off, it was poking.

The first five months I took off for the shoulder, so it was rehab every day. That’s when I really started eating right, training right, waking up early. Doing simple things – stretching throughout the day, icing my shoulder and jus doing little stuff like that until I was able to get back in the weight room, back in the team runs. I felt like just this program coach Feld brought in, you have no choice but to make a 1 percent gain every day if you come and give your all. That’s all I did. Once I got back, instead of trying to get 1 percent better every day I was trying to get at least 5 percent every day to catch back up, put myself in this area I think I should be in.

Those five months of rehab it was more cardio than anything. Keep ahead, just give myself an edge. If I can’t lift weights, I can walk, I can run and I can squat. Simple stuff like that which I don’t need my arm for. I told the trainers whatever it takes, whatever I need to do, I’m willing to do it.

I just consistently stuck to the grind. Started out with smaller weights, just been able to stick to the grind, this past offseason I actually was able to break my records from last year. That made me feel great, that each day you put a new brick into the house and after a few days or a few months you’ve got the wall. Just seeing that I put in 1 percent every day, didn’t get frustrated with 1 percent helped me lock in, realize you just have to work. This is a long journey, you just have to work for it.

Just sticking to the process, just trusting that I know myself as a person and know I’m giving 110 percent and eventually it’s going to show up. I can’t get mad with not seeing the results now, because when I first got back and started working out it wasn’t showing on my end. I was kind of heavier than I wanted to be, I wasn’t running with the group as fast as I wanted to be. I was tired, weak, stuff like that. So it was just about being consistent.

Now I’m feeling great, better than ever. Feel like my freshman year self. Just got my body back into the right shape that I feel comfortable in.

WILD RIDE WORKING WITH COACH FELD

It’s been crazy. Having him coming in and him pushing me and all the guys. Some days we don’t have energy, and he brings it. It’s been crazy but joyful workouts. Him figuring us out and us figuring him out has been a wild ride, but a great one.

Coach Feld, he’s tried to be as friendly as possible. But when it’s time to work, it’s definitely time to work. He doesn’t let up on anything. Very intense. I don’t even know how to explain it sometimes. He’s kind of crazy a little bit, but in a good way.

We always come in, are kind of making the sounds in the locker room from his videos. He’s just laughing. We know, that’s what makes it kind of funny.

The 45-day challenge, that’s his intensity every day. It’s just he puts it on Instagram for people to see, but we see it every day.

Some days we come in with our own juice where he doesn’t even have to do that. He just calls the workout and we go and play music and have a great workout. Some days he has to be that guy to kind of push us along and we kind of pick it up. It’s great.

The offseason in the weight room, that’s where you win games. The harder you train, the more shape you put your body into and the more you make yourself physically ready the better, because this is a brutal game and we are not going to be working out as much and as hard as we did during the season. So you’re building yourself up. Throughout the game you’re going to lose weight, have your body break down. Having him come in and being in this physical and hard and enthusiastic workouts was a great feeling. He prepared us for it and we prepared for it by coming in and attacking it every day.

Every day can be dreadful, some days coming in back to back, lifting heavy weights. But coaches find ways to juice it up every now and then so it isn’t so dreadful. We’re not upset about actually working out, trying to take the easy way out. We come in and work hard.

MANNY TO MARIO: I WAS SHOCKED

I was shocked but honored to have the majority of these coaches in the building. The majority of the coaches in the building came from great programs, great situations and they gave up all that to just be here, come help put us in those same positions and be better young men, educate us on the game. So I was just highly grateful … but shocked.

The previous coaches, of course I felt bad what happened to them. But just being in college so long I realize this world is a business, and a business decision happens every day in the world. You can’t get so upset about it, can’t dwell on it. Everything happens for a reason.

I felt great about the new coaches. Once I met them, they’re putting out energy, are repeating the same mottos they are putting out today. I was very excited to meet them, and for them to be the same people they were from Day 1 is even better.

And Coach Addae coaching the DBs, he’s great. He’s the first DB coach I had in college who will actually take the time out to break a play completely down if you don’t understand it. He’s a great coach, very, very enthusiastic and emotional when it comes to this. Because he wants his guys to win. Sometimes I just go in his office, kick it, `How you doing coach?’ Just have a conversation. We came from Georgia, talk about some of my old friends who went to the league, friends that transferred other places. We just kick it as player/coach sometimes. The majority of the time is strictly business, though, we’re always talking football.

WE’VE HAD HARD DAYS IN FALL CAMP

It’s gone great. It’s just been really hot, but that’s nothing compared to being down here in Miami. We love it, embrace it. It’s going pretty good, just been working. The only thing you’ve been looking forward to is the first game.

It’s hard some days, and some days we kind of are going along and trying to make it through practice. Coach Cristobal comes and talks to us every day, and we feel like we need that. To be the best team in the nation we need that hard work, we need that push every day. We need to be lifting and pushed when we are at our bottom so we can find a new height to go to. So we all are embracing what coach Cristobal is doing here.

He makes sure the coaches put it on us, makes sure he pushes on us that this is what he does, this is what he loves. And how you do anything is how you do everything. He hasn’t let up off that one bit.

He’s real big on he wants us to know why we do certain stuff or why he made this certain decision. He lets us know he’s working so he can make sure all of us have better opportunities at this University, walkon or not. He works early mornings to late nights and it’s all for us. I definitely do appreciate that. Just having a head coach that’s down to do anything, that’s down to make sure he can do whatever he can as an individual to make sure I have one of the best futures after leaving here is just amazing. It gives a little more love and gives me a little bit more effort because I know my coach is giving me the same energy back.

THE DEFENSE CAN BE SPECIAL

I’m kind of shocked as a whole because we’re becoming closer than a lot of us thought. Just each position group is taking the time to learn what they have to do and we are learning what each group does. The coaches are real big on communication and being a smart player, you know? We’re all athletic, have the strength, have the talent. So just having us able to have a little more communication is good. I feel with our communication picking up we’ll be a great defense. The linebackers are great, the D line is great and the secondary is great. We are just striving for greatness, need to gel up a little bit more so we can go out and be the best defense in the country.

With the new playbook, new coaches and trying to learn everything, new transfers, having us adjust so quickly – we understand the one goal, understand the one thing that we need to do as a complete defense is – it kind of shocked the coaches and all of us – we don’t still fully understand how great we can be if we all lock in and get on one page. I feel that’s coming, and it’s coming real soon.