Editor's Note: This is the second of a four-part series on senior offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone and the two knee injuries that have kept him from game action since Dec. 30, 2013. Parts 3 and 4 will run Thursday and Friday morning.





To read part one, click here

Despite the disappointment of a torn ACL and with months of tedious rehab awaiting, Oregon offensive tackle Tyler Johnstone took it all in stride. Friends made sure the person who lives for lazy afternoons wasn’t in danger of going stir-crazy by loading him up with fun projects while he began his recovery.

Coloring books were a popular choice during the first few days while he was laid up from the surgery. He even had some help from his Twitter followers when it became too hard to decide whether to create such masterpieces as a dragon, a “choo-choo train” or a “trippy iguana.”



Once he started to work his way back to the field, his support system sprung into action. His parents were of course front and center; Kevin with strong direction and tough love and Wendy providing the emotional support only a mother can give. Because Wendy works as a flight attendant, she has special access to open seats by flying standby, so she can head to Eugene at a moment’s notice.

Because his parents still lived in Arizona, girlfriend Ashley Laing became their eyes and ears, as did fellow Arizonan, offensive lineman and fellow Moose Andre Yruretegoyena.

“His biggest supporters are obviously his family; but also his girlfriend, and all of us close to him,” Yruretegoyena said. “He has no issue speaking his mind and going a little crazy to light a fire under everyone's butts.”

It was time for a little loving payback. His family, friends and teammates got the chance to light a fire under Johnstone’s butt for a change.

Apart from that support, being a member of an elite Division I college football program was a boon. Johnstone had access to top-level trainers and medical equipment in Oregon’s athletic health center.

On top of all that, he had offensive line coach Steve Greatwood and graduate assistant Joe Bernardi – the former a grisled patriarch, the other a bouncy older brother whose Fresno State biography lists former NFL offensive lineman Kyle Turley as his favorite because he was "the nastiest offensive linemen ever."

Bernardi had a unique perspective on what Johnstone was going through as the leg braces got smaller and the exercises harder -- he tore his ACL four times by the time his collegiate career ended in 2010. As Johnstone grew stronger, so did his relationship with his graduate assistant mentor.

“Tyler’s a kid and a personality where you just have to let him go. That’s his character and his personality,” Bernardi said. “You can’t put a collar on him all day long. When you’re around a kid every day for three years, you know how to deal with that dog.”

As August drew near, bringing the start of Oregon’s fall practice sessions, Johnstone appeared on the verge of a remarkable comeback. His knee passed all the necessary protocols and he was cleared to join his teammates for their first practice Aug. 4. Seniors Hroniss Grasu, Jake Fisher and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu had turned down the NFL for one more college go-round, along with potential All-America quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Johnstone was healthy and felt ready to rejoin his friends on the battlefield.

“When you’re hurt, we think we can get right back into it and play,” Grasu said. “We’re young and we think we can be like Superman, but the reality is we have to listen to the trainers and the doctors -- and Tyler did a great job. He did everything he could.”

Near the end of the second practice of the 2014 season, Johnstone was in his last drill of the day, a full contact, live-action session. Defensive end T.J. Daniel came crashing around Johnstone’s left side, his momentum putting a lot of pressure on the inside of the surgically repaired right knee.

Johnstone felt it buckle. It didn’t hurt, not much anyway, but it was enough that Bernardi came running over to help his left tackle get off the field. The knee swelled up some, but the initial tests came back clean.

Johnstone figured he dodged a bullet.

Johnstone (right) and Mariota celebrate a touchdown against Arizona State in 2012.

Then two days later, he jumped into a punt drill and felt the knee buckle again. At that point, his optimism faded; he couldn’t ignore his body any longer.

“I wasn’t sure anymore,” Johnstone said. “I just had a feeling of ‘uh-oh,’ a sense of doom. The coaches didn’t know either though; they were just worried. Somehow, subconsciously, I knew something wasn’t right. I was prepared for it to be torn.”

‘NEVER TOO LATE TO BEGIN AGAIN’

The next day, everyone was crowded around Dr. Gregory Skaggs’ computer. All of the futuristic equipment and decor in the training center make for a dark, sterile setting, fitting for delivering bad news. Despite the mural of an Oregon basketball player plastered across the only non-glass wall, the most notable green or yellow item in Skaggs’ workspace is a Brett Favre bobblehead.

The next few minutes were a blur of tears and emotions for Johnstone, who had bolted from the room -- as fast as one can without a right ACL. He didn’t make it far before Bernardi chased him down and gave his protege a shoulder to cry on. Once Johnstone gathered himself some, he and head coach Mark Helfrich called Johnstone’s parents, then Greatwood gathered Grasu and Fisher so they could tell the rest of the group.

As word spread within the football complex, Yruretagoyena made sure his best friend wouldn’t have to wait alone while the rest of the team finished their workouts. Laing was on the University campus when she got a phone call that made it clear to her she needed to get across the river without going into specifics.

After the second injury, Wendy and Kevin Johnstone flew to Eugene in search of answers. After everyone reviewed Johnstone’s surgery, his rehab, everything they could, there was still no good reason why his ACL had robbed him of a triumphant return.

“The only thing we could think was maybe with a body as big as his, some guys can come back quicker, but maybe he had to take more time,” Kevin Johnstone said.

The second injury affected Johnstone emotionally more than the first. The first few days after the MRI were among the hardest of his life. He dwelled on the months he’d spent working his way back, the hours of sweat and pain he now considers a waste of time. Not known for his patience from the day he was born, he wondered whether he had done enough, if he could have worked harder to prevent the disappointment he now stewed in. That he still stews in.

“Not every aspect of the first time was a failure, but I did re-tear it,” Johnstone said. “Nothing of that is on the trainers or anything, I just feel I didn’t go above and beyond what I would have needed to do to get it back to being ready. I don’t think I listened to myself, listened to my body after I passed those tests. I don’t think I listened to my knees the first time around, and that’s where I failed.”

Like the first time, though, Johnstone wasn’t despondent for long. Laing showed up at Autzen Stadium to find him waiting for her in the parking lot.

After consoling her now-boyfriend, she took him on a walk across the Autzen Footbridge to clear his head. It was on the bridge where they sat down to find the following inscription on the bench: “Good morning. It’s never too late to begin again.”

“It seemed so perfect at the time and it was pure chance we sat on that bench,” Johnstone said.

That was when he stopped feeling sorry for himself. It was time to get back to work. Back to his team.