By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After working his way from walk-on status and a broken hand early in his career to earn a starting position on Washburn University's offensive line, Orrin Busenitz's 2025 football season ended just two plays into the Ichabods' season-opener against Truman State when the former Shawnee Heights standout suffered a serious injury to his left knee.
Former Shawnee Heights standout Orrin Busenitz (52) has fought back from a serious knee injury on the second play of the 2025 season to return to action for the Ichabods.[Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But while the '25 injury was the unquestioned low point of his career, the 6-foot-2, 295-pound offensive guard has battled back over the past year, determined to regain his spot as a mainstay in the trenches for the Ichabods, who opened their fall camp earlier in the week.
"You don't ever want to have a serious injury like that as I did last year, but we did it early so I've had the absolute most time to recover as possible,'' said Busenitz, who suffered a torn ACL and torn miniscus. "It was definitely tough but there's always a brighter side of some things. Coach (Zach) Watkins talks all the time about how not everything is as bad as it seems at first.
"I think for me I was able to maybe gain some better perspective of our team and I think I was able to build better relationships with the guys in that locker room and get as many mental reps as possible and all that.''
Busenitz, an All-Shawnee County pick and Kansas Shrine Bowl pick as a senior at Shawnee Heights, also used his rehab time to work on his overall physical conditioning.
"Yeah, the knee was messed up, but I'll tell you what, the rest of my body felt great, the best it's felt in three years,'' Busenitz said. "My shoulders felt really good, so there's always a brighter side to it.
"People talk all the time about how with these injuries, a lot of it's more mental. And it's just getting back out here on the field and trusting what your body can do and trusting that you've done the work to recover and strengthen it up. And now it's just time to go.''
Busenitz, who is starting his fifth season in the Washburn program, admitted that there might have been a brief instance immediately after his injury when he thought about stepping away from football, but he said that feeling quickly went away.
"Maybe I jinxed myself a little bit,'' Busenitz said. "I think I've said in the past, 'Yeah, if I ever blow my knee out that's it, I'm done. But I can't go out like that.
"I'm just trying to make the most of the time I have left here. I love being out here with the guys, I love competing.''
And Busenitz wants to be in the middle of what he feels could be a big turnaround for the Ichabods, who are coming off back-to-back 3-8 seasons.
"With how the last two seasons have gone, we were so close as a team to getting over that hump and I just want to be here to help us succeed,'' Busenitz said.
The Ichabods will open the 2026 season on Aug. 29, going on the road to face former MIAA foe Truman State (6 p.m.).
The Ichabods will make their home debut on Sept. 5 at Yager Stadium with a non-conference tilt against Colorado School of Mines (12 p.m.).
