CHICAGO - Indiana may have one of its most highly touted athletes back earlier than expected.
Junior Camion Patrick, who was expected to return midway through or late in the season after undergoing knee surgery in April, is ahead of schedule in his recovery and could be back by the start of Big Ten play, according to head coach Kevin Wilson.
Patrick came to Bloomington from East Mississippi Community College last year and spent 2015 on IU’s scout team, winning scout team player of the week four times and the overall award of scout team player of the year.
“It might really be until November before he’s healthy and he’s back playing with confidence and the conditioning level is right,” Wilson said. “We’ll see, we’re encouraged, and we do have a lot of backs and we do have a lot of receivers … I think he’s the best of all of them.”
Wilson has never been shy to gush about Patrick’s potential, in the fall, spring and now. The Tennessee native will need time to knock some rust off when he gets back and work on his side-to-side movement, something his injury still limits, but when he returns he’ll play a key role.
Incoming freshman Shaun Bonner, a two-star tight end out of Georgia, will also be recovering from a knee injury as the season gets underway. Wilson said Bonner had his knee scoped and will be limited early, possibly entering him in the conversation for a redshirt.
Junior Isaac Griffith is still attempting to battle back from nerve issues in his knee, and will undergo a procedure that’ll keep him out of preseason activities and possible the season as a whole. Griffith was knocked out of the 2015 campaign after he tore his ACL against Penn State.
Junior Chase Dutra and sophomore Zeke Walker are healthy, but as they are coming back from injuries of their own, Wilson wants to be smart about what he allows them to do during the preseason.
