CORVALLIS - The limited strength in his upper back muscles is perhaps the longest lingering reminder Jake Luton has of the hit that could have ended his football career.
Few could have questioned the Oregon State senior quarterback if he never took another snap. But nearly seven months after suffering a thoracic spine fracture, the player who arrived in Corvallis last season boasting junior college All-American honors is ready to move forward.
"I never had second thoughts about coming back," he said Wednesday after OSU's first spring practice.
On the September afternoon in Pullman, Washington, when Luton had approximately 30 family members and friends in attendance, he left Martin Stadium immobilized on a back brace after a hit from All-Pac-12 safety Jalen Thompson rendered him unconscious.