Lions' Waddle feeling better, set to graduate

Most days this off-season, LaAdrian Waddle woke up early in the morning and made the hourlong drive from his home in Denton, Texas, to Dallas for a few hours of rehab on his surgically repaired left knee.

Usually, he joined his personal trainer for an afternoon of upper-body workouts after that.

And when he got home sometime around 5, he had just enough time to eat dinner and log on to his computer for an hour or so of YouTube lectures and homework before going to sleep and doing it again the next day.

Waddle, who hopes to return from a partially torn ACL in time for the Detroit Lions' Sept. 13 season opener against the San Diego Chargers, finished his final two classes at Texas Tech this spring and will graduate with a degree in university studies Saturday.

In doing so, he made good on a promise that he made to his mother, Christine Coleman, and himself when he left school to prepare for the NFL draft in 2013: that he'd return and be the first in his immediate family earn a degree.

"It was kind of a personal goal to finish up and get the degree," Waddle said. "Just being so close, it was something I had kind of set out to do, something that me and my parents had discussed and talked about finishing. I told my mom I'd finish and ended up doing it, and she's happy. She's flying out to Lubbock (today). I'm going to pick her up from Lubbock, so she's real excited; I'm excited. It's going to be a great time."

Waddle, who started running in his rehab this week, will walk across stage at the school's United Supermarkets Arena for commencement.

He earned a 4.0 in his two spring classes -- Principles of Sport Coaching and Foundation in Integrated Studies -- and said he plans to frame his diploma and bring it with him when he returns to Michigan for the start of OTAs later this month.

"I actually registered for those last two classes probably around November, or maybe a little earlier than that, because that was something I had wanted to get done. And I figure now is a better time than any," Waddle said. "It was a little complicated with the ACL thing, just doing rehab and stuff, but I couldn't really move around too much, so it wasn't like I was going out. In a weird way, it worked out. In a very weird way, it worked out."

Because both of his classes were online, Waddle was able to put in his normal football work day before hitting the books at night.

He said he had several lectures to watch in both classes every week, papers to write, and online discussion groups with other people in class.

Waddle, whose concentration in school was sports studies, sociology and organizational leadership, said he's not sure what he wants to do with his degree -- maybe get into coaching. But his injury-riddled 2014 proved that he needed a fallback for when football's done.

Along with his knee injury, Waddle, who has started 18 games at right tackle over the last two years, missed time last year with ankle, calf and brain injuries.

A little over four months after surgery, Waddle said his knee is "feeling good" and pain-free, and he hasn't had any setbacks with his recovery.

He said there's no firm timetable for his return -- "We've kind of just been taking it step by step. We want to just progress and keep seeing that progression and just kind of worry about that more than anything," he said -- but the hope is that he'll be ready to go by September.

"We're going to have to see," Waddle said. "I'm telling you now, I'm doing everything I can to be out there Week 1 and kick some ass."

Note: The Atlanta Falcons added a possible new starter to their offensive line by signing former Washington Redskins tackle Tyler Polumbus. The 6-foot-8, 308-pound Polumbus started 42 of his 47 games during four years with the Redskins. He also has played with Denver and Seattle and was with the Lions in 2010, though he never appeared in a game before being traded to the Seahawks.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. The Associated Press contributed.