For Michael Washington Jr., staying on a consistent workout plan carries extra weight than it does for a typical student-athlete. 

The NCAA’s cancellation of the spring sports season and the closing of campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic sent more than 460,000 student-athletes home, forcing them to train on their own. The regimen Washington has been on isn’t only designed to keep him in shape, but has mainly served as part of his rehabilitation from a knee injury sustained last season on the Mississippi College football team. In a September 2019 game, the 6-foot-2 defensive lineman tore his ACL, MCL and PCL, or posterior cruciate ligament. 

Fortunately for Washington, his recovery has been speedy. He was so advanced in the process that when the cancellation was announced and stay-at-home orders were issued, he could do most of his workouts at home. While he misses the in-person visits with his physical therapist, who would ensure he was doing the exercises correctly, it hasn’t stopped him from preparing for a Week 1 start. 

“It’s really important, and it got kind of hard the first couple weeks of all this, but I had to change my mindset,” he said. “Everything’s going well, and everything feels great. I really want to be 110% ready when it comes to the fall. I definitely want to come back better than I was when I left.”

A 2017 West Lauderdale graduate and Premier Preps selection, Washington played one season at Northwest Mississippi Community College before transferring to Mississippi College, where he became a regular starter on the Choctaws’ defensive line. Due to his injury, the Collinsville native was already slated to miss the spring football season, which he said is nevertheless still disappointing.

“Not going through that was kind of devastating, it still is,” he said. “The biggest thing for me is just trying to stay in shape, trying to make sure I do something every day, whether that be running or pushups and situps, anything I can do to make sure I stay in shape for when the time comes for the fall.”

Part of that disappointment coincides in what his designated role was for the spring. He said his coaches were having him play a main part in teaching underclassmen in his position and even helping linebackers transition to defensive lineman. 

“I was really excited about learning from another perspective for a couple months before I jumped back and started playing again,” he said. “It was a little bittersweet for me because I really wanted to go through spring football, but my injury wouldn’t have allowed me to do so.”    

While he still isn’t able to participate in football-specific activities like drills, he said he’s projected to be completely healed in about a month. He added that his defensive coordinator stays in contact with him and his teammates as they are all in a group chat, and messages are exchanged daily. 

“We do communicate a lot because we consider ourselves a close-knit family,” he said. “And he relays videos over to us all the time so we can make sure we stay on top of stuff so when it’s time for us to get back together, physically we’ll be ready to go.”