Blue White Illustrated

Khairi Fortt is eager for preseason practice to begin after sitting out most of spring drills BACK TO WORK BY NATE BAUER nbauer@bluewhiteonline.com K hairi Fortt is relieved to be back. Standing with his teammates at the opening ceremonies for the Pennsylvania Special Olympics in ear- ly June, the junior linebacker was no longer on crutches, nor was he wear- ing an immobilizing leg brace. For most of spring practice, howev- er, Fortt was forced to watch from the sideline because of a dislocated knee. As his teammates stretched and warmed up for practice after practice, Fortt could be seen off to the side, working with medical trainer Tim Bream. Typically, such injuries require four to six weeks of recovery time. But as Fortt explained, his condition was much more serious than most. "My knee has been dislocated a bunch of times – I think it's called sub- luxation – since ninth grade. It's popped out probably six or seven times," he said. "It's a chronic thing, and this last one was really bad. So they basically decided to fix it so that I don't have any future problems with it." Fortt had surgery April 20. After spending the next six weeks recover- ing, he said he was "feeling fine, up and ready to go." He was set to start run- ning again in June and is eager to see how the knee holds up once he re- sumes his preparations for the upcom- ing season. Because of the injury and subse- quent surgery, Fortt is going to be making up for lost time this summer. He was disappointed to miss out on most of Penn State's first spring prac- tice sessions under new head coach Bill O'Brien and his staff and wishes that he had been able to share the ex- perience with his teammates. Having only practiced three or four times be- fore the injury, he said the prospect of getting back out on the field for pre- season camp is that much more excit- ing now. 34 A U G U S T 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 HOLDING DOWN THE FORTT Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase stiff-arms Fortt during a game in 2010. Fortt has other reasons to be excit- ed beyond his pending return to good health – he estimated he will be fully recovered by the end of July – and his resumption of unrestricted workouts. Though he's expecting to be gradual- ly worked back into the routine of pre- season camp, he has a position battle on his hands once he gets back to full strength. With Michael Mauti still recovering from his second torn ACL, Fortt spent time at the "Sam" linebacker spot be- fore being injured this spring, playing opposite Gerald Hodges at the "Will" and Glenn Carson in the middle, or "Mike" position. However, the depth chart that Penn State released on June 5 revealed that linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden will take a look at Fortt and Carson at the middle linebacker spot in August. "The coaches weren't sure where I could play – outside or inside – and we have some injuries, me and Mike Mauti, so they're going to try me out there in camp on the inside and see how well I play," Fortt said. "I've played there a couple of times over the past two and a half years that I've been here. I'm pretty familiar. "All I've gotta say is that I'm going to work hard to earn a spot and compete for the spot." It's nothing new for Fortt, who admits that at times he has been frustrated at not being able to secure a starting position. Cyle Nunemaker Team sources have described Fortt as a marvelous athlete – "a freak," in their words – but one who still needs to refine his understanding of the game. Having spoken to Vanderlinden and the rest of the defensive coaching staff, Fortt says he is continuing to work hard on everything and is striv- ing to improve. "I really don't harp on the past. That's just my type of spirit. If you do, that's how you start to get negative about things," he said. "It's a new beginning and I'm treating this as a new beginning. Everybody is out here for the same rea- son, trying to compete, and I'm just go- ing to do my best to secure a spot. "I'm always up for the challenge. That's why I play football." W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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