At The Official Site in the Health and Wellness section (which I hadn't even heard of, and it looks awesome!) a piece by Pierson Prioleau just went up. Go read it here. Right now. There is absolutely no reason not to, and nothing I say here should substitute for appraising it directly.
I also want to say that I am enormously impressed with Pierson Prioleau and really look forward to seeing him on the field in '07. What happened to him was tragic and unfortunate and drastically altered our 2006 season.
All pre-game, I'm thinking, 'What are the Vikings going to do on their first play from scrimmage? What's Brad Johnson going to do?' And then came the sequence that I've replayed in my mind every day since: I'm running down the field on the opening kickoff, I see a guy coming to block me, and then...POP. That's the sound I heard from my right knee as my foot seemed to get stuck in the ground.
My entire season was over--after just about 10 steps.
When one of your players goes down for the season, the immediate question is whether they have the mental courage to aggressively rehabilitate. How much does a Pierson Prioleau want to return on the field? Can he do so in time to help this team win football games?
Even though I was injured, I wanted to be around the team and be considered a part of the team, but at the same time I didn't want to get in the way.
My goal has always been to be back by mini-camps and OTA workouts in the spring.
I don't know how Prioleau will play in '07 though I wish him the best. We sorely missed his coverage skills and leadership on last year's dismal defense, which was especially bad against opposing QBs. At the very least, though, Pierson appears willing to talk the talk: