Three things to know about Henry Josey, Missouri’s star RB
Mizzou’s leading rusher has come back from one of the worst knee injuries the sport has ever seen and helped lead the Tigers to the SEC Championship.
Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
1. He’s one major key to Mizzou’s success
Missouri has a powerhouse running game, averaging roughly 40 rushes and 230 yards per game. At the top of the RB totem pole is junior Henry Josey, boasting 153 rushes for 951 yards and 13 touchdowns, all team highs. Not All-American numbers all by himself, no, but with Mizzou using a three-RB rotation so effectively, the Tigers don't need All-American production from their tailback.
2. He came back from one of the worst knee injuries ever
In the pantheon of horrific knee injuries in college football, there are injuries like Willis McGahee and Marcus Lattimore, their legs flapping helplessly through the air after awful tears. But though the theatrics weren't as bad, the damage Josey suffered against Texas that one November day in 2011 might have been worse, to the point of his doctors called it a "one in a million" injury. Here's the rundown from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Josey, the MU sophomore who entered the game fifth in the nation in rushing, suffered a torn left patellar tendon and torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. And then some.
“Because of where he tore it ... it was not (even) a simple patellar tendon rupture, which made it even that much more complicated,” Smith said. “Had to fix that, had to fix the meniscus, and the cartilages both were torn. And the MCL had to be both repaired and reconstructed.”
The approximately five-hour process on Sunday didn’t include repairing Josey’s ACL, which Smith will perform in “maybe three months” depending on the pace of Josey’s recovery from phase one.
Yeah. “We’ll get to that torn ACL in three months or so.” That’s how horrific Josey’s injury was. But hey... he’s back! And crushing fools, even!
3. Even after all that, his knee is fine
Posey’s numbers are down from before his injury, to the extent that 6.2 yards per carry is down from 8.1 per. But if you’re wondering if his athleticism is back, here he is posting the SEC East-clinching touchdown run.
Oh, it’s back. And he still has another year of eligibility if he wants it.
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