5-Star UGA Commit Mekhail Sherman Returns to Football After ACL Injury
WASHINGTON, DC - Mekhail Sherman had to wait nearly an entire year to play in a football game that mattered.
The wait might have been worth it - even if you could tell that Sherman was still getting his footing. Sherman’s St. John’s College Prep rolled past Miami Southridge 48-0 Saturday afternoon.
“I’ve been getting ready for this all summer,” Sherman said. “Going against my own teammates in controlled practices is one thing. This, today, was my first uncontrolled environment. I was trying to go full out, but the back of my mind I was being precautious.”
Having some trepidation about getting rolling less than a year after an ACL injury is understandable. But an assistant coach at St. John’s wanted to make sure that Sherman realized he was on his way to a full recovery.
“Coach Mike Ward said to me: ‘You know what happens to a 1976 Shelby after not driving it for ten years? It jerks a little bit, but it gets to revving up.’ And that’s what happened today,” Sherman said.
After a slow first quarter - much of which was spent with Southridge running the ball away from Sherman’s side - the five-star UGA commit got rolling again. Pressuring the passer; defeating his foe on the other side of the ball; figuring out what was coming next thanks to film study.
Sherman was switching to fifth gear. By the second quarter he was more like himself - at least as much as can be expected only 11 months removed from the ACL.
“I felt a little better about myself, because what Coach Mike said was the truth,” he said. “All and all I am my toughest critic. I did feel down, but when Coach Mike said that to me I looked at it more optimistically.”
“When he got hurt, and we lost him last season, he was here,” St. John’s College Prep coach Joe Casamento said after the game. “His leadership was so valuable. He handled it the right way.”
The injury also give Sherman and his tight-nit family further insight into what they should do on the recruiting front.
“A lot of coaches sort of took a step back when he got hurt,” Sherman’s sister Raisa Sherman said during the blowout win. “But Georgia was still on him. They kept in touch with him the entire time. They were there.”
Sherman picked UGA in early May, and has been focused on getting back to the field ever since.
“He attacked the physical therapy. He attacked everything,” Casamento added. “He stayed very positive. It was great, but we are happy to have him back.”