Here’s why Penn State CB John Reid was smiling while talking about last spring’s season-ending injury

Penn State cornerback John Reid couldn’t help but smile after practice Wednesday night, even while recalling last spring’s season-ending injury. But, he said, there was a reason for that.

“Because I’m coming back and I feel better than I’ve ever been,” said Reid, a redshirt junior who missed last season due to a reportedly torn ACL in his left knee. “I’m doing more exercises than I’ve ever done.

“Just the strengthening part and everything like that, I just feel better overall as an athlete. I’m doing so much more I’ve never done — and I can still play football. And I feel like I’m going to play at a way better level than I ever have before.”

Reid has long been known as a film junkie, a player who’s logged about 100 hours more watching tape than any other Nittany Lion. He’s pushed his teammates into the film room, and he rarely makes a bad decision on the field.

The mental part of his game has never been in doubt. But there was always a lingering question on how long it might take his speed and agility to catch up after the injury. How long would it take to get back to 100 percent? Would he definitely be back to 100 percent?

So far, Reid said, he still needs to “knock the rust off” — but he was adamant that athleticism won’t be an issue.

“I’m able to do stuff now I’ve never been able to do before,” he added.

Physically, he said, his balance on the field has grown immeasurably over the past year. Now, he’s able to balance his body atop a ball — jumping up, switching legs, catching footballs — without falling off. That’s not something he was comfortable with in the past.

If freshman John Reid would’ve attempted that? “Nah,” Reid said with a laugh, “it wouldn’t have gone well.”

The New Jersey native wasn’t seen on the field Wednesday during the brief period of practice open to the media, but he was still dressed and held his helmet by his side while addressing reporters. Coach James Franklin said the staff is just trying to ease him back in.

“But,” Franklin added, “if we were playing this Saturday, he’d play.”

It certainly didn’t seem as if Reid would’ve fought that prognosis. He’s still taking reps as a punt returner, he’s still staying after practice — DeAndre Thompkins stretched while waiting for Reid to help on his routes — and he’s still just as sharp mentally as he was before.

In fact, he’s probably gotten even better at the latter. During the 2017 season, Reid said, he spent games listening on a headset — and that only improved his understanding of the defense.

“You kind of know the reasons they’re calling certain plays and how they’re thinking about situations and stuff like that,” the cornerback said. “I thought that was really cool. That was important.”

Reid said it’s been a long road to get back to this point. But he smiled when pointing to the corner where his knee gave out at this time last year. “Good cut too,” he said.

He’s still not where he used to be. Not yet. But he’s sharpening his technique — and he’s not concerned with shaking that rust off.

“With the amount of reps and extra work I’m doing,” he said, “that’s not going to take any time at all.”

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 9:32 PM with the headline "Here’s why Penn State CB John Reid was smiling while talking about last spring’s season-ending injury."