Calling Card: LB Sean Lee

On Wednesday Sean Lee addressed his return to Penn State next year, saying, "I’m coming back. I walked into the locker room the practice after I tore [his ACL], and I was like, I want to play another game I this stadium. I’m definitely going to be back."

Sean Lee covered a variety of topics in Wednesday's teleconference call. He addressed perhaps the biggest question swirling around him since his ACL tear last Friday; whether or not he would return to Penn State for the 2009 season.

"I’m coming back. I walked into the locker room the practice after I tore [his ACL], and I was like, I want to play another game I this stadium. I’m definitely going to be back," Lee said.

Here is a review of his comments during the call:

• Outpouring of support has been amazing. "I've got tons of calls. It's truly been incredible."
• He will have surgery later this month. He is not sure of the exact date.
• The injury is isolated to the ACL. No other damage.
• The injury happened on a normal play. The turf was fine. It was just a "freak" accident. “I was a little bit over-extended; I tried to cut real quick. There was no contact at all. I watched the play (o tape) and can’t believe it happened on a play like that.”
• His younger sister, Allie, tore an ACL last fall and is going through rehab herself. She is a soccer player going into her senior season in high school: "She's been an inspiration for me."
• He counts himself as luck in that he has a redshirt available. He said he feels terrible for Matt Hahn and PSU hoop player Geary Claxton, who saw their college careers end by torn ACLs.
• He would love to be named a captain. "It would be an honor and I would try to help out in so many ways."
• He asked for feedback from the NFL on when he might be drafted in 2008, and was told the second round. With that in mind, he took out an insurance policy protecting against a career-ending injury. But he does not see this as any kind of career-ending injury.
• Hahn, Jerome Hayes and Devon Still, who are all recovering from torn ACLs, have been great to have around. “It’s great to have guys like that who have gone through the same thing. They’ve been unbelievably supportive. We’re all in there in the morning working out, doing rehab.”

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