Carter Smith 'itching' to return from offseason shoulder surgery
Indiana offensive lineman Carter Smith will be sidelined for the entirety of spring practice to recover from offseason shoulder surgery, he confirmed on Tuesday.
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“I had a labral tear on my left shoulder, so I was putting a sling after my surgery,” Smith told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “I had a good repair done by a lot of doctors back at home.So nothing precautionary, it was just part of the procedure.”
Smith, who has started the last 41 games at left tackle, received the seventh-highest overall grade among all FBS offensive linemen (85.3), according to Pro Football Focus and the sixth-best pass blocking grade (87.7). Smith allowed just nine quarterback pressures and two sacks all season.
Smith was the Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Big Ten last season and had the opportunity to head to the NFL after three successful seasons at Indiana. Instead, following Indiana’s National Championship run, he returns to Bloomington with one goal in mind.
“I was definitely pondering probably putting my name into the draft this year,” he said. “I think at the end of the day, I wanted to be able to put on film that even after an injury like this — where I need to have a full repair — is that I can still put the same stuff on film. Because sometimes that can pop up as a red flag for some (NFL) programs. And with it being my first time being like this, I have to prove that I can still go out and do all the same things.”
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Indiana returns three full-time starters from its offensive line last year, including Smith. Drew Evans and Bray Lynch return, as does part-time starter Adedamola Ajani. This offseason Indiana added veteran Wisconsin offensive lineman Joe Brunner from the transfer portal.
Smith aims to be fully ready for fall camp — until then, he’s ‘itching’ to get back on the field.
“I mean, usually I’m the kind of guy to be able to run back up to the line on the two days after the game and still want to be able to hit something. So I am itching a little bit right now, that’s for sure,” Smith said with a smile. “Timeline wise, I see myself getting back for fall camp. I’m still gonna be managing a lot of weight lifting this offseason. I’m not allowed to put a lot of pressure on it, you know, but that’s gonna change here in a few weeks. Just keeping it very manageable right now, getting back into running pretty slowly, but should be ready by fall camp.
“I’m always itching to put the pads on and go crack some dude on the other side of the line of scrimmage. But I would say that taking a step back and being able to see the game from a wider range, even when I’m watching a game on the TV, whether it’s an NFL or college, I’m watching exclusively O-line play still. So I think it’s a good moment for me to be able to see it, especially for our young guys, since we have three early enrolling freshmen, to be able to see what they do on the field, and once they come out, to be able to coach them up.”
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