When Christian Ponder went down with a serious shoulder injury last November, his availability for spring practice was very much up in the air.
Surgery and the subsequent rehab went better than expected and enabled the Heisman Trophy candidate to participate in the spring sessions from jump street, even as he had some pretty severe rust to shake off.
15 sessions later? Consider the rust off and the hopes raised for a breakthrough 2010 season.
Ponder was nearly in midseason form during Florida State’s annual Garnet & Gold game, throwing for 266 yards and two touchdowns in leading his squad to a 29-17 “win”. For Ponder, just to be out there was a victory itself.
“It feels good,” Ponder said according to the Tallahassee Democrat. “It feels really good. To be told I wouldn’t be able to play in the spring at all to throwing 34 passes -- it feels good. I’m glad I got the work in. I’m glad I got to play.”
Both his head coach -- “He was in complete control,” Jimbo Fisher said -- and his teammates were impressed with how Ponder has played coming off the injury.
“Christian has been throwing like that all spring,” wide receiver Rodney Smith, who caught three of Ponder’s passes for 124 yards and a touchdown, said. “It’s just the little details -- pressing on the cornerback and then getting back on top of him. And it happened just like that. And he put the ball right there.”
