Jason Fox made noticeable gains in his rookie year

For Jason Fox, this past season was the redshirt year he never had.

A fourth-round pick out of Miami (Fla.), Fox started from the moment he stepped on campus as a Hurricane, 47 straight games in all.

As a rookie offensive lineman with the Lions, he played sparingly and spent most of his time in the weight room, still recovering from college knee surgery.

"Early in the year my knees were kind of bothering me still, so that kind of really limited me early and I just had to wait for my shot," said Fox, who suffered a torn patella tendon in his right knee as a senior at Miami. "I got some of it (in the season finale), and just for the situation I was dealt, I think I handled it well. But like I said, I'm not done, that was just the beginning."

Fox played the second half of the Lions' Jan. 2 win over the Vikings at right tackle after Corey Hilliard left with a knee injury. Aside from a goal-line series against the Packers, they were the only offensive snaps Fox, who was inactive for the season's first 12 games, played all year.

"I shook the cobwebs off the first series," Fox said. "But after that I felt like I held my own, and it's something to build on going into 2011."

Fox worked at both tackle spots and practiced some guard during the season. More important, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said Fox made noticeable gains in size and strength that should help him compete for a job next year.

"He looks really good," Linehan said. "I think he's getting (his knee troubles) behind him now and looks like somebody that's now had a year out of a knee surgery as opposed to whatever it was, six months. That's a big difference. ... It's really, I think, going to bode well for his off-season being healthy."



(freep.com)