LAS VEGAS – Cody Jesus was not sure if his left leg was broken when Theodore bucked him off in 5.76 seconds on Saturday night during Round 2 of the PBR Las Vegas Invitational.
Immediately, the PBR Sports Medicine team rushed onto the arena dirt to tend to Jesus as the 22-year-old struggled to get up after Theodore had stepped on the helpless bull rider.
“I thought something happened to it,” Jesus recalled. “He just hit it, and I tried to walk on it and just couldn’t feel it. It was really bad. I couldn’t get the knee to bend or nothing. I mean, he stepped right on it.”
It sure appeared as if Jesus, who had won Round 1 on Friday night with an 89.25-point ride on Strange Cargo, had once again been snake bitten by the dark injury cloud that has seemingly followed him since he made his premier series debut at the 2017 Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jesus has been attempting to work his way back into the Top 35 this year after shutting things down last season on February 15, 2020, after he injured his right leg and reaggravated a left groin injury dating back to the 2019 season.
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Inside the sports medicine room, though, Dr. Tandy Freeman gave Jesus some good news. His leg was not broken, and he instead had a Grade 1 left MCL sprain and an abrasion.
More important, Jesus could compete in the championship round if he felt up to it.
Jesus, of course, wanted to, and the PBR Sports Medicine team quickly got to work. Jesus spent about 15 minutes icing his knee before the team wrapped his knee and gave him a brace.
“If I’m sitting up there and I’ve got a good pick, I’m not going to waste it,” Jesus said. “So no use sitting back there and wishing I did get on.”
Jesus did not waste the opportunity, either.
The 2019 PBR World Finals qualifier crawled back into the bucking chutes for the championship round and executed the best ride of his career with cowboy grit and determination. Jesus brought the fans inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena to their feet and got his fellow cowboys on the back of the chutes going nuts when he rode Bentley for 92.5 points.
“A lot of try. If I’m going to get on, I’d better make it worth it,” Jesus said. “Man, I was just making a lot of moves. I kept watching that bull wherever he went. I kind of rode him to the outside. I think that’s why I stayed there a little more. But I did what I could.”
The huge ride gave him his second round win of the weekend and propelled him to a second-place finish overall. After beginning the event ranked 42nd in the world standings, Jesus is now entrenched inside the Top 35 at No. 24.
Where did those guts come from?
Jesus credited his parents – Heather Duncan and Vernon Jesus.
“A lot from my dad and a lot from my mom,” he concluded. “My mom was a single mother for eight years, and my dad didn’t always have it easy, so just watching them two, being around them two – my little brothers and my little sisters and my parents. I mean, that’s where my toughness comes from.”
ADDITIONAL INJURY UPDATES
According to Dr. Tandy Freeman, Caic Cassio Carvalho separated his left shoulder (type 3 AC separation) when he landed hard on his shoulder when his Buckin’ For Cash fell on him in 4.34 seconds. He was unable to take his re-ride option.
Eli Vastbinder (strained left pectoralis and latissimus) and Michael Lane (strained left thigh) also left the MGM Garden Arena beat up on Saturday night.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media