SEATTLE -- When Erik Kohler looked down and saw his kneecap had shifted to the side of his leg on the first day of fall camp, he asked himself one question: “Why?”
After all of the hard work put in throughout the spring and summer, the offensive lineman didn’t want to start his junior year on the sideline.
But like the kneecap, which popped right back into place, Kohler didn’t waste time working his way back onto the field, going through treatment five times a day until he was back to full strength.
“I knew I could fight through it,” Kohler said after Wednesday’s practice. “I knew I would be back. When they told me it was just a two-week injury, if that. I was perfectly fine with it.”
When it first happened, Kohler wasn’t sure what caused the injury. When he watched the film later, he noticed his cleat got stuck in the ground. His body went one way. The knee stayed straight.
“I would have to say that it was a weird, weird sensation just seeing your kneecap on the other side of your leg,” Kohler said.
Since he suffered the injury on the first day of camp, Kohler is now back to full-contact drills for the first time since spring. He has been reveling in the opportunity to put on pads and plow into teammates.
“It felt amazing,” Kohler said. “I missed it so much.”
Kohler worked at center and guard Wednesday and could play at all three positions along the line. Kohler said he prefers playing guard but, when asked about his role moving forward, he laughed and said the coaches have told him to “get reps at center, guard and tackle.”
“You saw Kohler today at right guard, you saw him at center and you’re going to still see him some at tackle,” Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He’s going to move around a little bit and, again, we’re going to need all those guys.”
Now that he’s back, he called the injury a “speed bump.” Other notes:
Linebacker Evan Zeger sat out Wednesday’s practice with a stiff neck.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant was given the day off.
The rest of Washington’s work this week will be closed to the media.