Thomsen Itching To Return To Field For Cavalier Football

Story by Rusty Ellis

The 2021 season wasn’t an ideal one for the Cookeville Cavaliers, and it didn’t have a great ending for then-junior quarterback Mace Thomsen.

Early on in their penultimate game against Blackman, Thomsen made a break for the end zone and tore his anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees. Thus, his season ended a weak early and he began a long recovery process.

Make no mistake though, Thomsen would do it all over again if given the chance.

“If I knew that I would get hurt, I would still run that play again,” Thomsen said. “All the stuff that I’ve done has led me to this point right now, and I’m happy with where I’m at right now.”

Like all ACL tears, the rehab process has been a long road for the now-senior signal-caller. He’s completely embraced it, even when it meant hours of work every day to work his way back to full health.

“Every day after school or even on the weekends, I’m trying to rehab it,” Thomsen said. “If it’s some sprints or stretching it out or just putting weight on it, it’s been all over the place, to say the least.”

A few months into his recovery, CHS hired their new head coach in former Cavalier great Taylor Hennigan. While he’s never experienced this injury himself, the first-year head coach says he was immediately impressed by how far along Thomsen was when he arrived.

“The biggest thing I can say is when I got here in January, I would’ve never known he had just torn his ACL,” Hennigan said. “He really progressed fully back to where he was cleared in the spring, even though I didn’t allow him to do all that…that’s a lonely road when you rehab an injury like that. I’m really proud of where he’s at.”

One thing many people who go through this injury say is that one of the last hurdles you have to climb over is trusting the knee again. Hennigan is quick to agree with that, saying the mental aspect of recovery is just as important as the physical side.

“It is a trust thing, as with any major injury,” Hennigan said. “It’s not that it’s not fully healthy, it’s just if you can allow yourself to play without fear or doubt…I think that was needed at the start of spring practice. He needed to get into some 11-on-11 stuff just so he could have a feel for the pocket with some bodies around him.”

Hennigan may not have coached Thomsen last year, but one thing is clear when he speaks of him: he can’t wait to see what the senior will do on the field after all the work he’s put in.

“That’s one thing we talk about with our players,” Hennigan said. “When you invest as much time and energy into what we’re doing, it should mean something when you win and it should mean something when you lose…he’s a guy that’s a student of the game, and on top of that with the time he’s spent rehabbing his injury, I can’t wait to see it pay off.”

Thomsen feels the same way, as the moment he steps back onto the field on August 18 against Upperman has been the only thing on his mind since his injury.

“You can ask my mom, the only thing I’ve said since my injury was that I just wanted to play,” Thomsen said. “I can’t wait. I’ve been thinking about that since the day I went down.”