Heart-pumping, nonstop-smiling Josh Proctor ramping up at Ohio State
COLUMBUS — Josh Proctor can’t stop smiling.
Even when he’s limited in drills, the Ohio State safety is relishing the chance to stand behind the secondary again and get mental reps.
Even with a new challenge thrown his way trying to learn a new position for a revamped Buckeyes defense, the veteran defensive back is absorbing every second.
And even when he was asked to relive the moment that ended his original senior season, Proctor still laughed about trying to stand up before realizing he had a compound fracture in his leg.
So, naturally, Proctor is going to keep beaming when he has opportunities to do things that qualify as a little more fun. And those chances have ramped up over the last few practices as Ohio State has started easing one of its most athletically-gifted weapons back into the rotation before camp closes next week.
“I feel good,” Proctor said after practice on Friday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “I feel like I’m able to get out there and run around. I’m just getting my legs back under me. This is actually my first full week getting able to go again and be able to do team reps and everything. I’m just trying to get back out there. I know I have some time to go.
“First getting back out there, it’s kind of shaky. Everything is still kind of moving fast again. The heart is pumping a little bit. But it just takes some getting used to, getting those reps and calming yourself down. I’m getting that confidence back day by day.”
Josh Proctor was positively bursting with it heading into last season, and by virtually every account inside the program the safety was poised for a long-awaited breakout on the way to the NFL Draft.
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The physical tools had never been in question. But Proctor was also pairing that with more maturity, enhanced practice habits and the kind of consistency that can only come through experience — which made him arguably the centerpiece of the defensive plan a year ago.
Then that came crashing down in just two weeks. First there was a shoulder injury in the season opener. And then while attempting to play through that for a reeling unit against Oregon, Proctor’s leg buckled under the pile and his season was over before it had even really started.
All of a sudden Proctor had new physical and mental challenges ahead of him: Grinding through rehab on his leg and coming to terms with the fact that he might need another season at Ohio State.
“It definitely was difficult — because I had goals,” Proctor said. “But I felt that it was maybe God’s plan. It kind of sat me down, like: Maybe I wasn’t ready. Who knows?”
“I was kind of on it right away. Because I felt like I didn’t go out like I wanted to, and I wasn’t able to achieve what I wanted to achieve being with the guys and just being here. I feel like it probably took me a good month or two before I really grasped: OK, I’m working my way back to another year and getting back into the swing of things.”
That process is well underway now for Josh Proctor, and it’s clearly gaining speed now.
And he’s doing it all with a wide grin on his face.
