Northwestern University Athletics
Upon Further Review: The Myslenski Indiana Breakdown
11/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2010
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
• The medical update was brisk and very much to the point. "I was fine. I'm good. I just got hit in the back of the head. I'm good," the 'Cat quarterback Dan Persa said.
• He, of course, left last Saturday's victory over Indiana after getting rung up and never returned. "Right away," he remembered Monday, "I was kind of fuzzy. Then when I was able to go back in, the game was pretty much over. So they didn't want to risk anything, which I think was smart. You don't want to mess around with that kind of stuff."
• He also remembered the exam he underwent and here he elicited laughs when he reported, "It was a bunch of questions. I don't know if I could answer them without a concussion. They're pretty tough. They were asking me to say the months backwards on the field. I don't know if I could do that right now. They're tough. No getting around it."
• But a concussion, as a rife of recent reports has shown, is no laughing matter, and so these are not typical times for Persa. "He's following our post-concussion protocol," 'Cat coach Pat Fitzgerald explained early on Monday afternoon. "He reported back to our athletic trainers yesterday morning symptom free, which got him on his clock to get back to practice full. He had the day off yesterday. He exercised this morning, felt great after that. He'll do his impact test later today, which we anticipate being clear. That would kick him into being non-contact (status for practice) on Tuesday and full go by Wednesday. So we fully expect him to play and be fine."
• The 'Cats, for years, have had a system in place to deal with a player who suffered a concussion and so had to make only a few tweaks when, before the start of this season, both the NCAA and Big Ten demanded a set system be followed. "It," Fitzgerald of this system, "all comes down to being symptom free. That's all based on how the young person feels. . . You go symptom free and that starts a clock where you've got to go 24 hours symptom free, which he was again today. That allows him the opportunity to go out and exercise and then, after a few hours, come back and do his impact test, which is a computer test we've been doing for a few years. Then he'll go through practice non-contact and he'll be full after that."
Have there been, as it seems, more concussions this season than in the past, or is it simply that more attention is being paid to them?
"I think the young men are doing a better job communicating their symptoms," said Fitzgerald. "I think back to when I was playing, I did a terrible job of that. I just wanted to play, so. I remember I pushed my eyes in after a game and I felt I was pushing them out the back of my head. I look back at that and that may have been the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life. I think there's much more awareness now."
• Here is more proof that the 'Cats are not concerned about the status of Persa, who grew up in Pennsylvania and so returns home for their Saturday game at Penn State. Fitzgerald busted him about that at his Monday meeting with the team's Leadership Council. "I said, 'Should I start Evan (Watkins, the backup quarterback) so you don't get too excited?'," related Fitzgerald. "He looked at me like he wanted to fight, so I backed away. But then I said the same thing to the Williams brothers (Nate and Quentin, who are from Pittsburgh), to (cornerback) Jeravin Matthews (who's from Canonsburg, Pa.). We've got a lot of guys from Pennsylvania. So it's not just Dan going home. We've got quite a few guys."
• Is Saturday a special game for Persa? "Honestly, it's just another game. Obviously it's a little more special with a lot of people in the stands. But other than that, it's just another game."
Is he getting a lot of ticket requests? "I'm worried about the game. I'm not really worried about the 40th person who's trying to come see the game. I could really care less."
"He knows the drill. You focus on what's important, get your tickets and all that squared away," injected linebacker Bryce McNaul, who was sitting next to Persa and experienced a similar situation when the 'Cats played in his home state of Minnesota last month. "I think he's all square. He was on the phone outside (the news conference). He's got it all locked in and ready to go so he can lock in on the game. That's the ticket. That's what you've got to do."
• When asked about Persa's condition after the 'Cat win over the Hoosiers, wide receiver Jeremy Ebert cracked that he was the same as always, "No smiles." Which is why Fitzgerald was asked Monday if the coaches ever try to loosen up their quarterback. "I think you have to be true to who you are," he said. "If guys aren't enthusiastic, I don't give them pom-poms and ask them to be cheerleaders. Danny's best strength is his intensity, his focus and his will to win. There's no question who our leader is. That being said, he's having fun. As Coach (Randy) Walk(er) used to say, 'Chuckles the Clown.' He's just not Chuckles the Clown. He's a guy who's really focused and determined and is going to do everything he can to help our team win. I don't see anything negative about that. But we talk quite a bit and he's having the time of his life. No doubt about that."
"I take winning and losing pretty seriously," Persa himself would say minutes later. "I demand a lot of myself and a lot of my teammates."
But is he having a good time?
"These guys know I joke around behind the scenes. But when we're playing a game, I'm not cracking jokes."
True?
"Danny? He's a jokester," said McNaul.
"I don't know where I get this. People tell me I don't smile enough," Persa then said.
"Captain Serious," said McNaul with a smile.
"I don't know," Persa finally said. "I guess I'll play into the persona."
• Issues and answers, handled quickly:
• On the improved pass defense, which was stout against the Hoosiers a week after getting strafed by Michigan State: "Coming into this game, we knew it was going to be a challenge," said corner Jordan Mabin. "They're a great passing offense and they have a lot of talented receivers, so we knew we were going to have our hands full. Personally, as a defensive back, that's all I could ask for and hopefully the other guys had the same mentality as well. I knew they were going to be passing a lot. I knew I was going to have chances to get my hands on the ball. That's the mindset I went into it with. Just try and be around the ball and make plays."
• On the re-emergence of Arby Fields, who earlier this season was dropped from the running back rotation: "I was really pleased the way Arby's handled the competitive situation," said Fitzgerald. "I know he doesn't like it. I don't like it for him. I feel the same way for every guy. I want every guy to have a starting role. But he's taken on some special teams roles and done a really good job of it. That's all we can ask. Sometimes you're not going to like your role. All you can control is how your attitude is and how you work and he's done a really good job of that. I'd say the same thing with Steph. Steph Simmons played really well in the kicking game Saturday. So I'm very pleased with the way those guys have reacted. I know they want the ball. But you've got to keep grinding."
• On how he made his one-handed, highlight-reel catch against the Hoosiers: "I wish I knew the answer," said wide receiver Demetrius Fields. "I just want to say, 'To God be the glory. Thank you for that.' Because I don't know. I just reached out. I don't know. Guys in the locker room were joking about how I looked up and found the ball in my hand, and that's how it felt when I caught it."
• And finally, on a lighter note, McNaul, when asked about the shiner he was fashioning on Monday: "I think I got poked in the eye somewhere. I think it helped with my Halloween costume Saturday night." And what did he go as? "A guy who got beat up."
• Editor's lighter note: Immediately after Fitzgerald opened his Monday news conference with his update on Persa, he had to pause as the majority of the room stopped taking notes, retrieved cell phones and began tweeting about Persa's health. The "Twitter-mission" lasted less than a minute.
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