Going into his final season at UH, Shane Ros is ready to make the most of his career after three leg injuries. | File Photo/The Cougar
Senior Shane Ros can’t wait until he gets hit on the field.
“I know it sounds weird, but it’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It’s been almost a year and half, and it’s going to feel good.”
Ros, one of the team’s most versatile players, will charge back onto the field Friday against UTSA after suffering a torn ACL to his left knee during spring practice last April. The injury resulted in him missing the entire 2013 season.
“It was definitely hard watching my buddies out there playing, especially the ones I (entered my freshman year with),” Ros said. “This puts me as one of the older guys on the team.”
Ros earned a valuable role as a walk-on in 2010, recording 12 tackles while starting five different positions on special teams before being added to the receiver rotation a season later.
Ros played in 11 games in 2012 and started the final three. He finished with 23 receptions for 337 yards and three touchdowns, including career-highs in both catches (7) and receiving yardage (114), as well as a touchdown against UAB. He earned a scholarship after the season.
“He’s a guy we know that we can fit into any spot and count on him in any situation,” said offensive coordinator Travis Bush. “He knows how to handle it, and it shows a lot about his character with his comeback.”
Ros has played the role of “Comeback Kid” more times than he would like in his playing career. While playing quarterback for Cinco Ranch High School, he tore his ACL on his right knee his junior season, and again as a senior.
With ACL injuries being one of the most severe in sports, players must go through intense rehabilitation and training before returning.
“A big thing from coming off ACL surgery is getting your confidence back,” said head coach Tony Levine, who coached Ros on special teams from 2010 to 2011. “Whether it’s getting hit, cutting or running full speed, he’s shown us — more importantly, showing himself — that he is a full go.”
When Ros played a vital role as receiver in the second half of the 2012 season, a large part of it was due to injuries to the players ahead of him on the depth chart. Now with 85 percent of the team’s receiving yardage returning, including Deontay Greenberry — last season’s American Athletic Conference leading receiver — competition will be high.
“That’s a good problem to have,” Ros said. “Competition is a good thing, and it’s going to be hard to spread the ball around. We have little competition within ourselves, so we’re just trying to get everybody better.”
With the three injuries to his knees, Ros said it affected his psyche when returning to the field, but he has learned to put it behind him.
“In the beginning, I was a little tentative with (the knee), but the more you practice the more it gets back to normal,” Ros said. “I don’t even think about it.”
