Part Two: Andrew Behm completes his comeback with Saluki Football

CARBONDALE, Ill. — In part two of Andrew Behm’s comeback story, he arrived in Carbondale in the spring of 2024, only to have his foot injury go from bad to worse. The long recovery process, in which he missed 17 games, challenged his faith, but built an unshakable bond with his new coaches and teammates. Finally at full strength this fall, he made his triumphant return to the field and is leading the team in tackles heading into Week 3.

READ PART ONE

SD: Talk about the major setback you had, shortly after arriving on campus.

AB: So I got here at the end of May, 2024 and met with the team doctor, met with Mike (Lyznicki). I was running at a slower tempo, trying to build back into it. During our first OTA (organized team activity) of the summer, I still remember the exact drill, it was a pass-drive drill, you open up, and then Coach Mac (McLeran) will point which way you go, and you try to plant, push off. I pushed off and I felt a pop in my foot in the same spot that was already hurting.

You're trying to impress all of your teammates that you just met, I don't even know everybody's names yet, and I'm trying to prove that I'm a guy they want to play next to and can help the team out, so very frustrating. Mike wanted to at least see what I could handle and then build off of that, so on the third day, when we were trying to figure out what my baseline is, I re-aggravated it. I just went backwards from where I was. It was a continuation of a cycle of the ups and downs.

SD: That was the start of your long road back to full recovery, though, wasn’t it?

AB: Yes, so Mike puts me in a boot and we go see a different foot specialist in St. Louis. The doctor said I never really gave it an entire full rest period. He told me to start using crutches and keep all the weight off of my foot for the whole summer of 2024. I got off the crutches a little bit before fall camp. I’m trying to walk around the field at first, slowly build up to jogging around the field. It's 100 degrees out, and everybody's dying on the field, and I'm just jogging around, wishing I could play.

I need to shout-out AJ Quinn. He was hurt at beginning of last year, too, and he was definitely a big support for me, someone going through the same thing with an injury, running laps around the field. He would pass me, because he's going faster than me at this point, and say, "You got it, Andrew. Come on.” Throughout camp, I was slowly building up faster, but it wasn’t until the bye week (Week 8) when I was finally able to go full speed again and take some scout team reps in practice.

SD: What did the rehab process involve?

AB: I’ve spent so much time in the training room with Mike and Bri (Sevin). I have to shout-out Mike and Bri for being super supportive, having great attitudes every day. Mike's always got a great energy about him. It easily could have been a dreadful hour, two hours every day, but I felt really encouraged by Mike, Bri and the other people in the training room. They really helped me take it a day at a time, getting the foot strong enough and healthy enough to play again.

After the bye week, I practiced a few weeks, finally got the foot healthy, or so I thought, and then went into the Youngstown game dressed for it. I was just supposed to get a few snaps and kind of see how it felt after that. I only ended up getting two or three kickoff reps, and they were both touchbacks, so I didn't really get to play that game.

Then the second to last game of the season was at South Dakota State, and I ended up starting that game because Shug (Walker) and (Chris) Presto were both out. I felt good going into the game, but then ended up hurting a different tendon in the same foot. So not the plantar fascia, but one over. By halftime, I was limping, but I worked a whole year to try to get back out on this field, so I'm gonna finish the game, you know? We got our butts kicked, but I felt back at home on the football field. Being able to play that game was really a blessing. I wasn't going to take it for granted.

SD: Which brings us to this most-recent off-season and working your way back to full strength.

AB: When I was back at home after the season, Mike gave me more stuff to do. I came back after winter break and wasn't sure how my foot would do with full-team workouts, four days a week running and lifting, but it finally started responding well. I got to work out with the whole team the whole off season.

When you miss 17-straight games, you're gonna do everything possible to make sure that something like that doesn't come back, so the whole off-season, and even now during the season, I'll still go in the training room twice a week specifically to work on my foot, keeping it strong.

SD: How did it feel to finally be full-go during training camp this season?

AB: To finally be on the field, at the point where I can help the team win games and be successful, it's a super-awesome feeling. I'm not taking anything for granted. Even fall camp, when everybody's getting tired and sore, and it's just day after day monotonous, for me, it's like a dream come true to be back just going through the struggles. I’m out there screaming, enjoying every team period. For so long I wasn't able to be on the field with the boys. There's nothing like it, you know? Glory to God that I can be back out there.

Behm had 16 tackles at Purdue.

SD: During the down cycles, did you ever ask, why is this happening to me?

AB: Yeah, in my mind, God, why am I facing this injury? Why can't I get healthy? I tried so much stuff and nothing worked. To trust God is a lot easier said than done. I remember thinking, God, I'm trying to trust you, please make it easier to trust you because it's so hard. I have a verse written on the wall in my room, Philippians 4:7, it says, "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind through faith in Christ Jesus.” His ways are higher than my ways. His ability to strengthen me is really what brought me through all the injuries and struggles I've had.

SD: Talk about your relationship with Coach Mac McLeran.

AB: He means the world to me. Throughout the whole injury process, he would tell me, when you're healthy, we'll have a spot for you and take your time, don't rush it. That was a huge difference for me, because football culture is to play through injuries, and you almost feel like you're letting the team down when you're hurt. Last season, I had so many talks with Coach Mac, just me and him in his office, and he kept repeating how much support he had for me, how much he loves me, that I can take my time with the injury and not to stress out about it because he's there for me. If I needed anything, he was always there for me, and he still believed that I could be a great football player when I did get healthy.

SD: He definitely seems like a player’s coach.

AB: Day-in and day-out with Coach Mac, you're gonna get super energetic, super fun to be around, and the whole linebacker room reflects his energy, as well. We're a super-close group because of him. Like you said, a player's coach. I remember one of the phone calls when he was recruiting me, I heard (his son) Brooksie in the background, crying a little bit. At first, I was like, you have a kid in the background? Then afterwards, I kind of thought about it, that's really a positive because, being a family man, he loves everybody around him. He's had us over to watch UFC fights. Seeing Brooksie and Syd (wife, Sydney) at practice. It's super-fun to be around his family.

Linebackers celebrate a win over Thomas More with Coach Mac and his son, Brooks.

SD: You’re coming off a career-high 16 tackles at Purdue. How did you feel about your performance and that of the defense?

AB: A career high in tackles is great, but you'd rather come away with the win. I kind of hurt the team a couple of times with two penalties in the beginning of the game, but I think the defense had some great moments. There’s stuff to learn from and to build on.

We had some really good run fits, and I loved the way we were flying around. You can see on the film a bunch of guys flying to the ball. When the guy's getting tackled, there's five or six hats around the ball, which you just love to see, 11 guys playing as one. Everybody doing their 1/11s. Our safeties are flying in, they're not scared to hit anything either. As a linebacker, having a good D-line in front of you, like we have here, it makes your job a whole lot easier, because they're going to take up blockers, and then having safeties behind you, you can not be scared to take shots and be aggressive, because I know Cejai (Parson), Vinny (Pierre Jr.) and Jag (Jagger Williams), all the other safeties as well, they're gonna come up and make you right.

SD: It seems like the defense really enjoys playing in Coach Pronschinske’s scheme.

AB: We're all pretty confident in it. I think the coaches do a great job getting us prepared for games. I’d say the system, I'm a huge fan of it. It really lets us all just fly around and get to the ball, and there's a lot of opportunities to make plays. I love the way we break down offenses and the different calls we have in for a particular week. They're gonna do a great job of getting us ready for it. No one works harder than Coach Mac. I'll go in and watch extra film with him and he'll break it down. He used to play O-line in college, so you get a very unique insight.

SD: What are the keys to playing middle linebacker?

AB: Coach Mac always tells me he trusts me in the decisions that I make. As the Mike linebacker, whatever decision I make, it's the best decision you made in your whole life, so have that full trust, that full confidence. He really encourages me to be aggressive, following the rules of our defense, but knowing when I can go take a shot. Once I know where I have to fit, I can go downhill and try to take it. I’m always gonna run to the ball, try to be aggressive and be in on as many plays that I can make and try to help be a leader out there. Communication is really a big thing as well, 11 guys playing as one, that's when every defense is at its best. So I really try to overemphasize that part of my game, trying to make sure I'm on the same page with everybody else.

SD: Do you ever feel a sense of vindication, that you’ve proved doubters wrong?

AB: There's always been a chip on my shoulder. Winning against Purdue would have given me more vindication, but after starting as a true freshman at Akron, and getting written off by the next coaches there, I’ve had to earn everything the hard way. There hasn't been an easy route to get here at all, but to have the support of Coach Mac, Coach Hill, Coach Pron, all the coaches here, I hope this is just the start of even more good things to come, to keep proving people wrong.

SD: Future plans?

AB: I'll keep playing football as long as they let me. In an ideal world, I'll play in the NFL for a little bit and then just be able to coach my high school football team the rest of my life. That's my dream scenario. At Akron, I graduated with my business administration in sport degree, and I was originally planning to go into professional sales for an NBA team or some major sports team. My plan is to start in ticket sales and work my way up to corporate partnerships or group sales, negotiating contracts with different companies. I did an internship in Akron with the Akron Rubber Ducks AA baseball team. I'm getting my MBA at SIU, so I feel like that might open up even more doors. I don't need to plan too far ahead, because you never know what God has planned for you, you know?