After an offseason of mental work, Cater trusting his body as Carolina closes training camp

Just 10 months after suffering a torn ACL, Allen Cater is not only back on the field, but in echoing the sentiments of his teammates, the senior linebacker said he's never felt better at the end of training camp.

"Everything, in my opinion, feels good," he said on Wednesday. "I feel great and I think everybody on the team feels great."

It's been a process to get there, as Cater was sidelined throughout all of spring practice as he worked his way back after having surgery at the beginning of January. That's not a great spot to heading into your senior year, especially with a new coaching staff and different defensive philosophy.

Rather than trying to pick it up when his knee was ready, Cater did everything he could to get a grasp of the defense and his new role as a linebacker.

Not only did he help himself, but Cater's commitment and presence set the right example for teammates.

"It's a big morale boost for our room because he went through so much and then even when he was hurt, he was in every meeting room," linebacker Tomon Fox said. "We’d see him out there working…"

Through his physical work, he got his body ready and was medically cleared for the start of training camp.

Through his mental work, he was ready to analyze and execute what he needed to do as an outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Jay Bateman's new system.

Still, there was one hurdle he had to clear mentally, but that didn't take long.

"The first couple of days, to be honest, was a little scary but that’s normal, to be expected for not playing for a year," he said. "By the first day of pads, I was ready; I was ready to go and everything was very confident for me.

"The mental reps I got in the spring helped a lot, so it didn’t take long for me to actually pick it up and get back used to game-speed because I had pretty much run through a lot of the stuff mentally."

For a team that has been challenged by coaches to get tougher at every position, Cater has certainly made an impact.

"I think Allen Cater has really come along and I give that kid a lot of credit," Bateman said. "I think he’s like 8 ½ months from ACL reconstruction and he’s taken almost every rep we’ve asked him."

Follow HeelsMaven on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates

Add us as a preferred source on Google