Clemson linebacker making progress with knee rehab
By: Gavin Oliver May 10, 2019

Bryton Consantin had a good doctor’s visit on Thursday and is ready to take the next step in his recovery from a torn ACL and torn meniscus he suffered earlier this year.

The freshman Clemson linebacker was cleared by the doctor to begin jogging.

“It feels good. It’s another big obstacle that I overcame,” Constantin told The Clemson Insider. “I’ve been looking forward to jogging. I went back to the doctor (Thursday), and he said everything’s been going well. I asked him when can I start moving around and jogging, and he told me I can start now.”

Constantin suffered the knee injury in late February while playing basketball for University Lab School before undergoing successful surgery in March. The Baton Rouge, La., native shed his crutches in early April and will continue to rehab daily moving forward.

“Next I still rehab every day, just machines they have me working on with weights, like leg press and leg kick-outs and stuff like that, trying to get my quad and my hamstring stronger,” Constantin said. “But I’m definitely going to start jogging, trying to get in the best shape I can before I arrive (to Clemson).”

Constantin will enroll at Clemson next month and believes he’ll be back to full health in November. The former four-star prospect has already decided to redshirt his upcoming freshman season.

“This season I’m going to take it to redshirt,” he said. “Athletes can come back from the injury within six months, but that’s really pushing the re-tear rate, and my doctors and my trainers down here really don’t want that for me. They told me nine months is going to be where the tear rate goes significantly down … so I think November should be the time where I’m 100 percent.”

Constantin is looking at the glass half full as he goes through the rehab process. He knows he will benefit from a redshirt year on the sidelines being able to watch and learn from other linebackers.

“I kind of look at it as a positive. I don’t really take anything negative from it,” he said. “Just being able to watch and learn from the great linebackers like Isaiah (Simmons), Shaq (Smith), Mike Jones and Jamie Skalksi — all of them that are in front of me that I’m going to get to watch and learn from … And then hopefully that next year I can get on the field and just fill their shoes.”

A highly regarded prospect coming out of University Lab, Constantin helped his team to state championships in 2017 and 2018. He recorded 104 tackles, including 23 for loss and six sacks, en route to All-Metro MVP and 3A all-state honors in 2017. In 2018, Constantin helped University Lab to a perfect 13-0 record before concluding his prep football career by playing in the Under Armour All-America Game.

Before enrolling at Clemson on June 23, Constantin plans to help work the Dabo Swinney Camps from June 1-13.

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