LERON MITCHELL IS BACK !!

By Ian Hamilton, Leader-PostSeptember 22, 2009


REGINA — Leron Mitchell has scratched a 14-month itch.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive back played in Sunday’s 31-27 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos at Mosaic Stadium, the first CFL regular-season game in which he had appeared since suffering a broken right leg on July 4, 2008, against the host B.C. Lions.

“I finally got the monkey off my back,” Mitchell, 26, said following the Roughriders’ practice Tuesday. “It was exciting to get in front of some fans and do what I was doing before.

“There were some nerves, but as soon as I got out there, it was just like riding a bike.”

During Saskatchewan’s second regular-season game in ’08, Mitchell suffered a broken bone, torn ligaments and a dislocated ankle in his right leg while covering a punt. He spent the remainder of that season on nine-game injured lists and started this campaign on the nine-game as well.

He came off that list following the Labour Day Classic, but didn’t play in Saskatchewan’s 55-10 rout of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 13. He was activated prior to Sunday’s game against Edmonton and took the field for the first time since suffering an horrific injury.

“It really didn’t cross my mind out there,” Mitchell said. “It was a completely different situation. That was a year and a half ago. My head was exactly where it needed to be. I was focused on this game, focused on my assignments and on accomplishing my task.”

That he did, making the special-teams tackle on Saskatchewan’s first punt of the game.
“He did that with great speed and determination so I didn’t see any dropoff at all,” Roughriders head coach Ken Miller said when asked if he saw any hesitancy in Mitchell. “Then he continued with that kind of effort and results throughout the game.”

That marked the end of more than a year’s worth of mental and physical stress for Mitchell.
He underwent three operations on his leg — one to insert a plate and a screw, one to remove the screw, and one just four weeks before training camp to remove the plate and bone chips from the area — and went through the angst of dealing with a situation through which he had never gone before.

“(Getting back on the field) means a lot,” said Mitchell, a product of London, Ont. “It’s been an ordeal, going through that break and having to be out and having to rehab. It’s been really stressful. This means I haven’t given up and I’m still willing to work.

“I just tried to be positive as much as I could, working hard and knowing what I’m capable of doing,” he added. “That helped motivate me to try to get back.”

ihamilton@leaderpost.canwest.com