Redshirt freshman linebacker Carlos Mendoza shuffles to anticipate a the snap in a drill during a practice April 9. Mendoza cannot fully compete in spring practices but makes the most of the mental reps. (Photo by Edmund Hubbard)While some players fail to bounce back after a major injury, ASU redshirt freshman linebacker Carlos Mendoza is getting ready to return to the field.
Almost seven months removed from the season-ending shoulder injury he suffered during the Sept. 8 game against Illinois, Mendoza is working on the mental side of his game while he dons the green no-contact jersey in spring practices.
“I’m just trying to work on my footwork, knowing all my plays and getting mental reps,” Mendoza said. “I’m expected to be competing for this spot, so even if I’m not playing and getting any physical reps, I have to get every mental rep that I can, so I can know my position, and it will make it that much easier when I come into play.”
Mendoza is competing for the “Will” linebacker job with redshirt senior Grandville Taylor for the fall season. Mendoza says his time sidelined has given him the mental advantage he needed.
“I know what I have to do,” Mendoza said. “I still need to do better. I need to focus more, study more, and I need to be the best I can be when I come out here.”
Physically, Mendoza admits he’s frustrated to not be out on the practice field earning the starting spot.
“It will get frustrating at times, because I see my competition out there getting better and working hard,” Mendoza said. “I’m a team player, so I’m trying to help them get better anyway I can.”
Mendoza was at his best during his abridged freshman season, especially during the Illinois game where he intercepted two Illini passes before the injury.
“The confidence is still there, but I still go through a lot of little things that I need to overcome,” Mendoza said. “I need to become a better football player overall and become more of a man about things like my shoulder.”
Mendoza and the coaching staff are being cautious with his shoulder, though. He will be wearing the green no-contact jersey the entire spring. That means he will be involved in some drills but does not go full contact in team drills.
He will not participate in the spring game.
Although Mendoza won’t be competing during the spring game, he remains in good spirits because of the progress he has made during his rehab.
"Overall, it feels pretty good,” Mendoza said. “I haven’t had any pain or anything like that, just a little soreness. They tell me by fall camp, I’ll be able to go full contact. It feels a lot stronger now than it did when I first came here after my first surgery. The rehab went really good, and I have full range of motion, and I’m just working on strength.”
Once he regains the strength he once had, Mendoza is set on building upon his true freshman year.
“I just want my shoulder to be 100 percent when I go out there, so I can prove myself once again to the coaches that I’m here to play and here to start,” Mendoza said.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu or follow on twitter @Danny__Shapiro
