Bright future for Dean
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AUBURN, Ala. | Jamel DeanClick [rl]Here to view this Link. was ruled medically unable to participate in spring practice at Ohio State.
Five months later he's practicing full speed at Auburn and has the look of a future standout.
"I don't know what kind of rehab he's getting right now because he looks like a football player," Auburn secondary coach Travaris Robinson said. "He's running around really fast and breaking really hard and catching the ball. He doesn't have any issues."
Dean suffered a torn knee ligament during his junior season at Cocoa (Fla.) High and tore a meniscus in the same knee as a senior. He enrolled at Ohio State in January as a December graduate in the 2015 class.
Both those injuries appear to be behind Dean now. Robinson said Dean began practice with the rest of the team on the first day of preseason drills.
"He's a really good football player and we're excited to have him," he said. "He's a really big body. He's long and really good on the line of scrimmage playing bump-and-run, a really, really good football player.
"He's going to be a huge addition to what we're trying to do. Knowing we've got a bunch of seniors leaving after this year, having him now and understanding what we do and how we do it, it's going to be very, very beneficial to him as we get to January and move forward."
Dean is unlikely to be cleared to play this year due to NCAA transfer rules. But he's already making the most of his opportunity to practice this fall and Robinson took some time to recognize Dean on Thursday.
"He's a great kid and I'm so happy we got him. It's crazy, we we're in a meeting yesterday and I wanted to share that to him in front of everybody. We're excited about him and he's fitting in with our guys."
