Blue White Illustrated

N A T E   B A U E R | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 Nelson relishes return to action on offensive line A fiBh-year senior, Andrew Nelson has been in the Penn State football program long enough to draw from wide-ranging sources of inspiration. Last Saturday aBernoon, returning to ac- tion for the first time since exiting the Nit- tany Lions' game against Maryland last October with an unspecified injury, Nelson recalled one of former head coach Bill O'Brien's mantras. "He always used to say, 'Don't dip your toe in the water,' and that's something I was trying to do – not be hesitant, not wonder- ing how I'm going to do. Just go out there and play every play like it's my last," Nelson said. "Fortunately or unfortunately, I know what that's like, that any play can be your last for that season. So that was my plan, to just go out there and have fun, enjoy it and play every play like it could be my last play." Filling in intermittently at right tackle behind starter Chasz Wright, Nelson came away from the Nittany Lions' 33-14 win against Pitt feeling as though he had done exactly that. On his second series of action, Penn State put together a six-play, 62-yard touchdown drive that gave it a 14- 0 lead midway through the first quarter. Nelson said he relished the opportunity to be back out on the field, part of a drive that punched in a touchdown at the end. "That's when I was like, 'Man, I miss this a lot,' " he said. Certainly, Nelson had time to reflect on his appreciation for the game. Having missed four games with an in- jury during his redshirt sophomore season in 2015, he knew all too well what it felt like to be relegated to the sideline. But coming in the midst of the Nittany Lions' remarkable run to a Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth, his absence during the Lions' final eight games of last season prompted new levels of personal reflec- tion concerning his relationship to the game. "I had a lot of fun [in the game against Pitt], and that's something that you lose sight of when you're playing every single down for three straight seasons. You can lose sight of how much fun it is," Nelson said. "But when you're watching from the sidelines for a long time and you finally get back out there, you realize how fun that is." Of course, that fun was preceded by months of grinding. In addition to the physical pain of rehabilitation, Nelson said there was a mental toll that his injury ex- acted during the 11 months that he spent recovering. "I've had tons of injuries throughout by career and it's just that mental aspect of al- ways putting in so much work, not feeling like you're getting the fruits of your labor, just knowing every day there are going to be ups and downs," he said. "It's something Coach [Matt] Limegrover stressed to me a lot: 'Take it day by day, and eventually you'll be back out there.' " Acknowledging that he likely could have returned to action in the Lions' home opener against Akron on Sept. 2, Nelson said he was confident in the coaching staff's plan to gradually work him back into the rotation whenever he felt up to it. For his return to the field last Saturday, that meant a frank discussion with Limegrover following practice the day aBer the Akron game. ABer Nelson gave them the go- ahead, the coaching staff put a plan into place, found the right series to put him in the game and let the rest take care of itself. "I've got to give it to the training staff and to Coach Limegrover and the coaches. They put a plan in place to kind of ease me back in, and I really appreciate the way Coach Franklin has handled this – that he trusts me enough that he can throw me back out there and rotate me in some series and not skip a beat," Nelson said. "So I ap- preciate that and the way they've handled me coming back." After missing most of the 2016 season with an in- jury, Nelson re- turned to the field in Penn State's victory over Pitt last weekend, backing up Chasz Wright at right tackle. Photo by Bill Anderson

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