Gophers football notes: Thompson credits ankle surgeries for his better speed

ORLANDO – Cedric Thompson was one of the Gophers' fastest players last season, when he led the team with 79 tackles. But the safety's ankles were hurting, and the pain persisted through spring practice.

Thompson knew he had to get the ankles checked, and the training staff encouraged him to take care of it in April, allowing time to heal for his senior season.

The doctor who checked Thompson could tell his right ankle needed surgery. Upon closer look, the left ankle needed it, too.

"I said, 'Forget it, let's just do it,' " Thompson said this weekend, as the Gophers prepared for Thursday's Citrus Bowl against Missouri. "I knew it would do nothing but benefit me, and make my ankles stable and tight."

Thompson awoke with a cast on each foot and had to hobble his way to and from his spring classes. But he dived into his rehab and looked as if he hadn't lost a step by the start of training camp, on Aug. 1.

Thompson said he looked at his rehab as a chance to become stronger and faster. He said the team's training and strength staff was a huge help.

"I got faster," Thompson said. "The ankle surgeries benefited me more than anything."

The Gophers track each player's speed using Catapult's microchip GPS technology, and Thompson ranked as the team's third-fastest player this summer. When he chased down Wisconsin receiver Alex Erickson on a broken play Nov. 29, Thompson was clocked running a personal best 22.5 miles per hour.

Behind senior linebacker Damien Wilson, Thompson is second on the team in tackles this year with 77. Thompson had 12 tackles against Wisconsin, including two for a loss. After wrapping up his college career against Missouri, the co-captain will be gearing up for the NFL draft.

"It's emotional," Thompson said. "I remember coming into senior day [Nov. 15], I was crying coming into the stadium because we worked so hard to get to this point, and this program is completely different. The fact that we worked so hard to get to this point to be here on Jan. 1 is just a blessing."

The Gophers shortened Sunday's practice into a 50-minute walk-through at Freedom High School. The players lifted weights and did other conditioning, but coach Jerry Kill postponed the team's media availability until Monday.

The Gophers were in full pads Saturday and held a much longer practice.

"This is one of the tougher days we'll have, but I thought they responded well," Kill said Saturday.

Players spoke about the adjustments they had to make in Florida's 80-degree heat and humidity.

"When you're really tired, you feel like you're not getting as much air as you would like," said cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun, who also was fighting a cold. "So I would say that's the hardest thing to fight through."

It was 82 degrees Sunday, and the forecast calls for similar weather Monday. Rain is forecast Tuesday, and it's still expected to be partly cloudy and about 75 degrees for Thursday's game.

The Gophers kickers, punters and long snappers headed from Freedom High School to the Citrus Bowl on Saturday to familiarize themselves with things.

The Gophers have been practicing on Freedom's grass field, and the Citrus Bowl switched from grass to artificial turf in 2010. That year, heavy rain led to horrendous field conditions for the Capital One Bowl between Penn State and LSU, necessitating the switch.

The Gophers played only one game on natural grass this season — Sept. 13 at TCU.