NU's Wootton keeps things in perspective

As NFL scouts evaluate Corey Wootton's every move during his senior year, they ought to know this about Northwestern's all-Big Ten defensive end:

He needs work on his complaining skills.

For example, Wootton finds himself stuck with the smallest bedroom in the Evanston rental home he shares with eight teammates - even though he's the oldest, the biggest and the only preseason Playboy All-American of the group.

"My rent is a little cheaper, though, so that's good," said Wootton, who was taken in by his teammates this summer when his initial housing plan fell through. "At least I've got a place to stay."

That sense of perspective also serves Wootton well in the worst of times, such as the fourth quarter of last year's Alamo Bowl.

Moments after Northwestern athletic trainer Tory Lindley and assistant Jennifer Brown reached Wootton on the Alamodome turf, they were able to diagnose what he had wrought.

In pursuit of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, Wootton tried to change direction, but his right knee didn't obey.

The Rutherford, N.J., resident tore his anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and meniscus cartilage - and went into "Why me?" mode while laying on the turf that betrayed him.

"Jennifer and I talk about that all the time," Lindley said. "It was pretty apparent what he had done, and we told him right there.

"The 'Why me?' for Corey lasted for about two seconds. And it wasn't about Corey. It was about how could he, as a leader, still contribute to the team?"

After being Wootton was helped off the field, Lindley offered to take him to the locker room. Wootton opted to stay on the sideline until the bitter end of Northwestern's 30-23 overtime loss.

Now, less than eight months after undergoing surgery to fix his knee, Wootton is one of Northwestern's four captains and eagerly awaiting the Wildcats' opener Saturday against FCS also-ran Towson.

He enters the season as NFLDraftScout.com's top senior prospect in the Big Ten. The same Web site's mock draft pegs him as an early second-round selection.

Wootton should rise in the scouts' eyes as they determine the following statement to be true.

"I'm pretty close to 100 percent, if not 100 percent," Wootton said. "Camp really regained my confidence, especially in my knee. In the off-season, I did cutting drills and things of that nature, but nothing could really simulate what I'm going to do out there on the football field.

"I don't even think about my knee anymore when I'm out there. It's not even a thought in my mind."

In Lindley's mind, that's a tribute to Wootton's fanatical attitude toward rehabilitation.

Lindley expects linemen to need more than eight months to recover from a torn ACL. The 6-foot-7, 284-pound Wootton, who carries 19 more pounds of muscle than he did for the Alamo Bowl, followed the time line reserved for skill-position players.

"He's right where we thought he'd be because of the effort we knew Corey would put in," Lindley said.

Not only did Wootton do strength and conditioning rehab three hours a day, six days a week with Lindley and/or Brown, he furthered his rehab at night while at home.

There's a nifty little machine called the "Game Ready" that combines compression and cold therapy. Every night Wootton slipped the wrap that attaches to the machine around his knee. Then he dialed the machine all the way down to 30 degrees.

"I had that at my home the day of surgery," Wootton said. "I still do it every day."

He'd also do some range-of-motion exercises like heel slides to accelerate his rehab.

"Some people will commit for the first month or so," Lindley said. "Some people will get lazy. That's not Corey."