Missing all of last season with a torn ACL, Wabash defensive back Daniel Eddelman was unsure how he would come back his senior season.
Eddelman so far has made the most of his senior season, moving his way up to a starting cornerback spot and starting all eight games for the Little Giants. He is tied for the team high with five pass breakups and also has recorded 20 tackles, 15 of those solo.
“I was in doubt after last season if I would be able to come back and play at the same level,” said Eddelman, a graduate of Columbus North High School. “My knee was sore at first, but now it’s not affecting me as much and I’m getting back to playing more to my ability.”
Eddelman will be one of the Little Giants honored as Wabash hosts Hiram for Senior Day 1 p.m. Saturday at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium.
After playing some special teams his sophomore season, Eddelman had high hopes entering his junior season. During a normal preseason practice, however, Eddelman’s focus quickly changed to just getting healthy again so he could return for his senior season. During a non-contact practice, Eddelman was making a cut and his knee gaveout on him.
“They say that is how most of these injuries happen,” Eddelman said. “It has nothing to do with contact, you can just slip or have a miss step, and you’ll end up with a torn ligament.”
Hoping to start his rehabilitation as soon as possible, Eddelman chose not to have his surgery over the summer and instead took a day off before Fall break and a day off after Fall break to have his surgery. Then, he started into rehabilitation, which dealt a lot with strength conditioning and range of motion.
“I just tried to work my way back into playing athletics,” Eddelman said.
Because of his work during rehabilitation, Eddelman was able to do some drills during the Little Giants’ spring workouts. He didn’t feel like he was back to full speed until the beginning of summer practices.
In Eddelman’s first game back, he tied for fourth on the team with four tackles as Wabash defeated Denison 56-7.
Eddelman’s big game came in a 37-3 victory over Allegheny in the fourth week of the season, where he had five tackles and three pass breakups.
“I would be a little sore during practice just because the grind we go through every day and the cold would cause some soreness,” Eddelman said. “But with the way our practice schedule was set up, We have Friday’s off from physical practice, so by Saturday I’m fine.”
Eddelman has felt himself get stronger as the season has progressed.
“The transition from lifting and drills to full-on contact was difficult,” Eddelman said. “Not just on my knees, but also on my legs and at first I felt out of shape. But once I got through team camp, I felt like I was back to where I was before.”
Because he missed all of last season, Eddelman does have another year of eligibility. But hoping to get into medical school, Eddelman doesn’t want to waste a year coming back to play football.
Eddelman applied to eight medical schools, and six remain possibilities. He is looking at three schools in Chicago, the University of Cincinnati, Indiana University and Case-Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio.