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Home > Bison Media Zone > Bison defensive end Jake Kava back playing spring ball two years after ACL tear
Podcast: Bison Media Zone
Episode:

Bison defensive end Jake Kava back playing spring ball two years after ACL tear
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2022-03-29 14:00:00
Description: FARGO NDSU defensive end Jake Kava was set to have an explosive year his sophomore season.

"Obviously I played a little bit my freshman sophomore year, but then COVID hits,” said Kava. 



WATCH: Jake Kava works way back to field after battling ACL injury

Just like that, NDSU’s season was over. Before he could blink, his football career took another turn.



"All of the sudden you’re at a practice one night, and then I had a freak accident," Kava said.



Kava tore his ACL, and his next season was done. 



"I've never been hurt like that," said the defensive end. “It was tough."



"Its not fun; it sucks," the senior continued. "You’re going to miss a lot of games. I just kind of take a step back and see how I can use that to my advantage.”



And that's exactly what the Shanley grad did. 



"Last spring I was able to grow as a player mentally on that side of the ball," Kava said. "Just being able to sit with the coaches and calling the defense and stuff like that.”



The mental improvements helped elevate the defensive end’s game on the field. 


This past season, Kava played in 15 games, racking up four sacks.



"Coming back in nine months, I was like you hear about it, and then you go through it, and its like holy crap," said Kava.



Two years later, Kava's life has come full circle as he's back playing spring ball with the Bison.



"It makes it a lot sweeter knowing what you've gone through. There's definitely a lot of gratitude."


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