Coaches say all the time that spring workouts are spent teaching individual technique ΓÇö a priority that ranks above every goal except one: getting healthy.

Defensive lineman Aaron Davis is doing upper-body workouts while waiting for his sports hernia to heal (photo by Webmaster).

To that end, SMU defensive lineman Aaron ΓÇ£SpikeΓÇ¥ Davis is sitting out the MustangsΓÇÖ spring drills while recovering from surgery in February to repair a sports hernia (a tear in the lower abdominal muscles).

ΓÇ£IΓÇÖm out all spring,ΓÇ¥ Davis said. ΓÇ£It feels pretty good now, but we donΓÇÖt want to push it.ΓÇ¥

Davis said he no longer is experiencing pain ΓÇö ΓÇ£it gets a little sore sometimes, but nothing too bad,ΓÇ¥ he said ΓÇö which has come as something of a surprise after watching two teammates, guard Bryce Tennison and cornerback Keith Robinson, deal with similar injuries.

ΓÇ£Bryce and K-Rob had the same thing, so IΓÇÖve seen how long it can take to come back,ΓÇ¥ Davis said. ΓÇ£I want to be out there on the field, but I donΓÇÖt want to push it.ΓÇ¥

Davis said the normal timetable for healing is ΓÇ£about three months before I can put stress on it again, and start doing squats again. For now, I can do upper-body workouts, so at least IΓÇÖm doing something and feel good.ΓÇ¥

The three-month estimate means Davis should be able to resume full workouts around May 10, shortly after he completes his final exams.