Bill Beckner Jr. is the Valley News Dispatch sports editor and can be reached at 724-224-2696 or via e-mail.
San Francisco 49ers linebacker and special teams ace Scott McKillop never had to sit out a year to rehab a sports injury — not in peewee football, not in little league, not in a decade-plus of wrestling.
"Never," the Kiski Area product said. "This has all been new to me, but hopefully it will make me stronger. It's been frustrating. I am pumped to get back on the field."
Whenever the lockout ends, McKillop will be ready to resume an NFL career that was halted last summer by a season-ending knee injury early in his second training camp. McKillop, a Pitt grad, tore the ACL, MCL and patellar tendon in his left knee.
"I'm right on schedule," McKillop said of his rehab. "It was more mental than physical, for sure. There have been good days and bad days. (Former teammate Thomas Clayton) went through a similar injury, and I saw him on the field last year. I know it can be done."
To save money, McKillop, 25, has been living with his parents in Export since December. He was a backup to Takeo Spikes at inside linebacker and could be in position to move up the depth chart in his third season.
McKillop has been rehabbing with former Pitt strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris several times a week.
"He has really helped me get my knee back," McKillop said. "He has spent a lot of time with me, and I can't thank him enough."
In 2009, McKillop became one of the 49ers' top special-teams players, even scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery. With a change in leadership — coach Mike Singletary was fired and replaced by Jim Harbaugh — McKillop knows there will be scheme changes.
And with the labor dispute lingering, he said his knowledge of the X's and O's has been limited. That said, McKillop doesn't feel he'll be far behind his teammates.
"We have a new defense, so there's a lot of new material and, had it not been for the lockout, we could have been reading up," he said. "I don't think that'll hurt me. We should all be about equal there."
A fifth-round pick in 2009, McKillop said he has received support from numerous people, including his former coach at Pitt, Dave Wannstedt, who is now an assistant head coach with the Buffalo Bills. McKillop has been training with former Pitt players John Malecki, Shawntae Spencer and Nate Byham.
"A lot of people take things for granted in their lives," he said. "You need to appreciate what you have. It seems like yesterday when I ran for the first time or got off crutches. When you go through something like this, you really learn who your friends are."
The quick-witted McKillop, who once ran in the pierogi race at PNC Park during an internship, has become a fan of San Francisco's most eccentric baseball player, Giants closer Brian Wilson.
"Love him," McKillop said. "My goal is to meet him and, since we're both in the Bay Area, I hope that can happen."
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