Mental, Physical Hurdles Now in Lucas Samsula’s Rearview

LARAMIE -- Maybe it was just a pulled calf muscle?

It could've been a badly rolled ankle, he thought to himself.

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One second, Lucas Samsula was in a three-point stance, prepared to blow out of the blocks, his sights set on launching the opposing tackle into the offensive backfield. The next, he was on the ground, wondering what had just transpired.

Was he stepped on? Did a teammate accidentally clip his leg?

During that slow limp off the field, mind racing, he knew something was wrong. Very wrong.

"They brought me to the training room and said, 'You ruptured your Achilles,"' Samsula recalled. "It was on that initial push off of my leg. I didn't even touch anyone. I didn't get touched at all."

The film told the tale.

Samsula said you can actually see the tendon detach from the heel, unraveling into his calf.

"It's disgusting," he said.

His sophomore season was over before it even began. Torture followed.

He was bed bound for two weeks. A scooter served as his transportation for longer than he cares to remember. Sure, the surgery, the agonizing pain and the grueling rehabilitation was taxing, but being forced to helplessly watch his team from afar hurt much worse.

Evan Svoboda's first pass attempt of the season was picked off and returned 29 yards for a touchdown. The fourth toss was also intercepted. Arizona State immediately turned that mistake into three more points en route to a 48-7 laugher in the season opener.

Samsula, relegated to a recliner inside his Dallas-area living room, was in disbelief.

"It was super rough," he said. "It was a stab in the heart."

The Sun Devils rolled up 241 rushing yards that night in the desert, averaging five yards per carry. Sam Leavitt added 258 more through the air. Wyoming's defensive tackles combined for just 13 of the team's 78 tackles. Only one came behind the line of scrimmage.

The Cowboys would go winless in non-conference play and eventually limp to a three-win season. The defense, a staple in Laramie over the past decade, allowed nearly 411 yards per game. Out of 133 FBS programs, that unit landed at No. 103.

The interior of that front four chalked up just two sacks. The leading tackler, Jayden Williams, finished with a room-high 28 stops.

Though Samsula has yet to play a college snap, his head coach said they missed his imposing 6-foot-4, 306-pound frame, clogging up the middle.

"He brings an element that we haven't had, size wise, at that position," Jay Sawvel said. "His movement, his ability to to run and his ability to move at that weight, he can be fairly impactful ... The spring was good for him to blow the rust off, so that was good. He's doing good things, daily."

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His counterparts agree.

Caden Barnett, a senior who this offseason made the move from offensive tackle to guard, often comes face to face with Samsula in practice. What are his weaknesses?

What weaknesses?

"I can't name a single one," Barnett said. "He's super powerful, he's a big human being, he's quick and he's good with his hands. I think he's going to be a big stud. He's going to really help our defense this year."

"He's a big, strong guy," fellow guard Braylon Jenkins added. "We get each other better. Sometimes he gets in my chest, sometimes I stop him at the line. It's always fun to go against Samsula."

A First Team All-District 6-6A tight end at Plano High School, Samsula hauled in 11 passes for 239 yards and a score. He averaged 21.7 yards a catch. While those numbers don't exactly leap off the page, his raw athleticism does. That's why Big XII programs like Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State kicked the tires.

Those schools wanted him to remain a pass catcher. He thought he wanted that, too. Admittedly, putting on weight seemed like a lofty task.

Wyoming was interested, but only if he wanted to put his hand in the dirt. One scenic trip to Laramie later, he was ready to sign on the dotted line.

"I knew I wanted to be here," he said, flashing an inviting smile.

While the physical demands over the last 12 months have been daunting, it's been the mental hurdles that Samsula is eager to check off his list. What would it be like the first time he fired out of his stance? Could he trust that surgically-repaired tendon? It took more than five months just to feel comfortable walking, he said.

Would he be the same player?

Most of those questions have already been answered.

The explosion is back. His brain and body, he said, is once again on the same page. A positive mindset got him here. Now, it's time to produce.

"Look, he's going to play his first game on Aug. 28," Sawvel said, referring to the 2025 opener at Akron. "The expectation is, by the time he plays his third, fourth and fifth game, he's substantially better than when he plays his first game."

Just suiting up and running onto that field will be a win in Samsula's book.

"I can't wait," he said. "I'm very confident."

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