Battling Back in the Spring

Nothing can derail a college football career faster than an injury, and for Montana State University-Northern wideout Jake Horner, he is hoping the exact opposite proves to be true.

When a player gets hurt, things will usually go one of two ways. The player will either rehab, recover and find his place on the team again or the injury will nag or linger and, somehow, things just aren't the same. It happens all the time and the latter probably ends up being true more often.

That's what Horner faces this offseason, as he tries to recover from a broken collarbone that cost him the entire 2018 season a season that should have seen him play a prominent role at wide receiver.

"I was just doing a simple drill in fall camp last year," Horner said. "I fell awkwardly and ended up breaking my collarbone. I am just trying to get back to where I was. I am not there yet, but I am just trying to keep working hard and getting better."

While there wasn't much Horner could do physically due to his injury, he still had a chance to learn the offense and get familiar with the playbook as he bided his time and waited for an opportunity to get healthy.

"As far as my knowledge of the playbook and stuff, I feel like I am right where I was," Horner said. "I never really lost the drive to keep going. Coach Rolin just always told me to never give up and so I am just trying to bounce back."

Keeping the drive that Horner talked about isn't so easy when you're an athlete and you are out for the season. You spend a lot of time doing rehab and you don't even get to travel with the team. But once he started getting healthy, Horner found his own way to stay involved.

"When I was healthy enough," Horner said. "I was actually the ball boy at practice at the end of the season. But mostly, you are doing rehab. It's hard when you don't get to travel but they can only take so many guys, I wish I could. My teammates still made me feel like I was part of the team. I was with them every day and the only time I wasn't is when they were on the road and I was watching them on TV."

Before his injury, Horner was projected to be one of the top guys in the slot for the Lights in the first season under head coach Andrew Rolin. Now, Horner is still getting work with the top offensive unit, but he's playing a different role, lining up outside.

"I used to play slot and now I play Z," Horner said. "Mainly the route concepts are different. The alignment on the ball is a big difference for me. I have to get to know that and know my assignment on every single play."

The Lights may not be short on wide receiving talent with Bryce Bumgardner and Marvin Williams, two of the leading receivers from last year's team both returning, yet with guys like Sam Mix, Fotios Jordanoglou and Seth Roemmele graduating, more depth is needed and that's where someone like Horner comes in.

So far during the spring, he has made his fair share of plays, including a reception in the scrimmage that went for around 20 yards last Friday. It has all been part of the process and this spring is the first step for Horner, a former CMR standout, who will be looking to make his on-field debut for the Lights this fall.

"I was a little rusty at the start," Horner said, "so I have just been trying to break the rust off. But playing a new position and coming back, I feel like I have been doing well so far. I just have to keep competing and getting better."

Spring ball continues for the Lights all this week.