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UNM football: Achilles injury is no match for Lobo

By Iliana Limón
Thursday, April 26, 2007

Lobo Kevin Balogun was never supposed to play football again.

Balogun was a sophomore who finally sewed up significant playing time at defensive end in August when he fell back awkwardly after a stunt.

He tried to get up but felt an intense pain in his left heel that changed his life.

"It was so hard telling him he tore his Achilles tendon," University of New Mexico head trainer Dave Binder said. "It's the kind of injury most people never recover from, and I didn't know if he would make it back. It takes a special kind of kid to overcome this type of injury."

Balogun not only made it back, but he blew past the most optimistic predictions of a one-year recovery. He is participating in spring practices, and he hopes to be back at full strength to fight for a starting job when fall camp begins in August.

"I heard it all the time, `No one comes back from this injury,' " Balogun said. "And I just kept telling people, `That's not me. I'm different, and I'm going to recover.' "

Balogun is now a junior backup defensive end on the Lobos' spring football depth chart.

He credits good trainers leading his rehabilitation, his passion and determination to get back to football and supportive friends and family for his remarkable comeback.

UNM got him off to the right start by quickly performing the surgery to unroll the Achilles tendon that had painfully wrapped up.

Then Balogun had to hobble to classes and wait for the area to heal, forcing him to take more time off than most athletes who suffer other serious injuries such as torn anterior cruciate ligaments.

"When they first told me about the injury, I was in shock and felt like my whole career was over," he said. "And there were some ugly days, but I just love football too much. I love being around my teammates and coaches. I just had find a way to come back."

It helped that Balogun had suffered a torn ACL early in his freshman year and knew rehabilitation would be painful but rewarding.

It also hurt that he had been through the ACL injury and was being forced to learn to walk again, making him doubt the strength of his body.

"I had a lot of family and friends to help me through those times when I got down," Balogun said. "They kept telling me I could do it and I would be back. It's hard because they don't feel the pain you're going through, but their words still helped a lot."

Balogun tried to cling to the positive memories of recovery and set about his rehabilitation. He went to the training room daily from 1-5:30 p.m., doing a series of exercises in the whirlpool.

He often fought through pain as he forced the tendon to stretch back into place properly.

It didn't help that Balogun is 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, a hefty frame applying more pressure on a tender foot.

"He was so dedicated and there so much, we almost made him a student trainer," Binder said. "He's just a remarkable young man. All the guys out here are special, but Kevin is really special."

Balogun efficiently cleared every hurdle, eventually jogging along the sidelines as the Lobos were preparing for the New Mexico Bowl in December.

"Everyone was so worried I would hurt myself, but the doctors said it was OK, and I knew my body was ready for it," he said. "It felt so good to be back on the field and back around my teammates. I hated being alone in the training room. I just wanted to be back with my team."

The start of spring football was special for Balogun, although he has only 80 percent of his strength back in his foot and can't participate in every drill.

"I was nervous on the first day and told myself, `Just don't get hurt again,' " Balogun said. "That went away pretty fast. It felt good to get out there."

Balogun isn't ready to call this the end of his comeback story.

"I'll know I made it back when I get to play in a game next season," he said. "That first game is going to be special because it has been so long since I played. I know I'm close, but I want to get back to where I was right before injury. I want to be strong and get my spot back."