'Tough times don't last, tough people do': SRU's Cody Ross making football comeback

When it comes to football, many won’t find a player who is a harder worker than Aliquippa native, former Freedom Area standout and current Slippery Rock linebacker Cody Ross.

For Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz, getting a player that has stemmed from a family coaching tree with the work ethic that Ross has, was a match made in heaven.

“He is a dream come true,” Lutz said. “He comes from a coaching family, his father has a lot of exposure around the area helping kids, and Cody is just one of those guys that grows on you. I use the word relentless in our program all the time, and he is just a guy that continues to make our program better not just as a football player but all of the other things that he does. He recruits players in the area, getting guys to believe, helping in recruiting, everything that you could want in a player even the little things, Cody brings to the table.”

During his career at Slippery Rock, Ross has carried himself at a high level, keeping himself level-headed through several injuries that he suffered throughout his collegiate career while continuing to work to take his game to new heights.

While he was also trying to better himself, Ross was a key leader on this Slippery Rock team who worked tirelessly as a leader helping his teammates anywhere he could exuberating his positive attitude to his team, and making those around him better in the process

However, on Aug. 8, 2023, Ross’s chances of ever suiting and stepping out onto a football field again were put into question.

While he was preparing for the upcoming season during fall camp, the redshirt junior linebacker suffered a non-contact injury as he was trying to fire up his team during one of their drills at practice. When Ross landed after he jumped up into the air to encourage his teammates, he felt his knee pop.

Many thoughts were running through Ross’ head as he began to process what he did to his knee but after he realized he had torn his ACL, and meniscus while also suffering a microfracture in his knee with cartilage missing, he began to wonder if he would ever suit up again for The Rock.

“I didn’t know what I did at first,” Ross said. “I tried to get back up at first and started to jog but I just collapsed after I did that. During that time in my mind, I didn’t know where I was mentally. When I found out what had happened, I started to wonder if I would ever be myself again and get back to the level that I was playing at. There was also a time when I thought about hanging it up and not playing anymore. With it being my third season and being told that I might not be able to play again, there were a lot of things circulating through my mind at that time.”

It took a while for Ross to get out of a negative headspace after suffering a catastrophic injury like he did. At the time, Ross was told that playing football within the calendar year would be a very tough task due to the extent of the injuries that he suffered with his knee.

But once he started to clear his head, Ross understood that he was very weak-minded at that moment and even though this was the most difficult injury that he had ever had to recover from, he was ready for the challenge and journey ahead.

“I have had injuries before and I was able to push through those types of things. But this injury was completely different, I didn’t recognize myself when I looked back at how things were I didn’t have that fire that I usually had. There were days in rehab when I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do this or if I would ever be able to translate anything to the field again. I wish that I never would have had those thoughts because I am doing things that I am used to. I am more explosive, agile and running a lot better. This is probably the strongest that I have been in my entire career. When I rehabbed, my teammates and coaches would constantly come up to me and encourage me and want to have me back for my final season.

"There were people that were relying on me to come back and I had unfinished business. I didn’t want to go out the way that I did, I wanted to have a memorable senior season and go out and play with my teammates one more time.”

The journey back to playing football again for Ross came with a lot of hurdles that he had to surpass before getting to the point where he is today. But even with a large mountain that he had to summit, the redshirt junior was not alone in his pursuit to hit the football field once again.

Fellow Aliquippa native Dr. Stephen Hribar who also does work with the Quips high school football team, has been a family friend of the Ross’ years before Cody suffered the injury.

But when he suffered the injury, Hribar helped Ross get connected with some of the best doctors and surgeons in the area when he underwent surgery on his knee on Aug. 31, of that year.

“Having him [Hribar] in my corner for years now since I have been in college he has given me input on any injury that I have ever had. When I tore my knee, he put me on one of the best surgeons in the area Dr. Darren Frank who also works with the Pirates and he did a great job getting me the proper care that I needed and got me back to my former self. With Dr. Hribar’s connections, he just helped make my body better.”

Ross knew that his journey had just begun post-operation as he looked to begin rehab right away.

Even though through the rehab process the linebacker went through his fair share of adversity, he was continually reminded by his family of the words that his late grandfather former Hopewell football head coach Butch Ross would say which helped push Ross through the trying times and give him the right mindset.

Those words by his grandfather not only put him in the right headspace but also want athletes who are going through similar adversity to look at as well.

“My grandfather always would say ‘If you think that today was the hardest day of your life, you have another thing coming.’ There is always someone out there who does have what you have. Those are people that are out there just grinding and doing it for themselves. That really stuck with me. Tearing your knee sucks, but, it is not going to be the worst thing that has ever happened to you in your life compared to what other people are going through every day. Stay the course, keep your head down, disappear, work as hard as you can to get back to where you were and don’t pay attention to what other people are doing. When you start to focus on yourself, you start seeing progress.”

Following the surgery, the recovery process began and he continued to work with individuals by his side that would help motivate him to continue to work his way back out onto the football field.

During his playing days in high school with Freedom Area, Ross had the opportunity to seek treatment from Jacqueline Crytzer who worked as an Athletic Trainer for the Bulldogs football team when she worked for UPMC until 2017 when she was hired as the athletic trainer at Slippery Rock.

The two met again when Ross began playing football at The Rock in 2019 and she helped him through his previous football-related injuries. Following his knee surgery in 2023, Crytzer helped push Ross through his rehab helping him regain strength in his knee as he trained up up at school.

Along with Crytzer, Physical Therapist at Allegheny Health Network Michael Palumbo also took a copious amount of time with Ross to help nurse his knee back to full strength.

The time that both individuals took to work with Ross will leave a lasting impact on the linebacker as he nears the end of his rehab journey.

“It is awesome to have this type of support system,” Ross said. “When you have injuries happen like this, some physical therapists will tell you that they will get you back to where you used to be, and to them, you’re just another patient. But physical therapists like Jackie and Michael, don’t see me like that. Jackie has been one of my athletic trainers since my days at Freedom. She would always help me with other injuries in the past so to be able to grow up with her, she is one of the best athletic trainers in the business. Her constant support will never go unnoticed. The same goes with Michael, all the work that he put in using the equipment that they had further helped get me back into playing condition.”

Now with the 2024 season approaching, Ross is poised to make a return to playing football now just nine months post-operation. Even with the senior looking to graduate at the end of the fall semester, Ross is ready to make a return to the field one last time with his teammates.

“I want to go out the right way, on my terms and I don’t know what is in store for me after college. This season, I want to take it one practice at a time, enjoying my coaches, and teammates and just enjoying everything about football. I put in a ton of work this offseason and I just can’t wait to be back out onto the field with my brothers.”

Now with his knee almost fully healed, Ross will now look towards his final season of collegiate football and get to suit up for one more season at The Rock and go out on his terms.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'Tough times don't last, tough people do': SRU's Cody Ross making football comeback