BLOG — Ole Miss linebacker D.T. Shackelford was dealt another blow with his recovery and return to football field.Shackelford, who has undergone two surgeries to repair a torn right ACL, will not play this season for the Rebels and first-year head coach Hugh Freeze. The 6-foot-1, 250-pound Shackelford said he learned that he would be unable to play a week ago when he consulted Dr. James Andrews on an updated checkup of his status.
“It is what it is. You got to keep rolling with the punches and get ready,” Shackelford said. “I found out last Friday and then they talked, the coaches and everything, and decided to hold me out. That’s when they told me. It’s fine, you got to keep chugging through it.”
Shackelford, who has not played for Ole Miss since the 2010 season, said he will still be around the team in meetings and help lead the defense by inspiring to turn things around.
“I’m not the happiest person right now, it’s still fresh, but you have to find that inner you that says I’m going to defeat this. That’s all it is, an obstacle, and you have to defeat it. You got to get through it some kind of way,” Shackelford said.
For more on Shackelford and what he means to the team, see Monday’s Sports section. (August 3, 2012)
