LOS ALAMITOS >> It didn’t take Nick Wendell long to recall how his left knee was torn up in 2012.

“We were in our spring game and so it was a flag football game and it was a pass play in the huddle, but I saw an opening in the defensive line, so I took off and I just took a wrong step and my knee kind of slipped out; that’s how it happened,” said Wendell, Los Alamitos High’s senior quarterback.

Wendell sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament as well as a torn meniscus and had two surgeries.

“Oh, man. There’s just really not any way to describe it, you know?” said Wendell, when asked about his initial thoughts after realizing the severity of the injury. “It was just a tough time. But after a while you just kind of find a sense of urgency, you go through therapy and you find a way out.

“Just the thought of playing football again keeps you going. I’ve always wanted to come out here and play quarterback for Los Al, so I always had that in the back of my mind.”

Wendell was MVP of the junior varsity as a sophomore and was slated to be the starter on the varsity in 2012. The injury foiled that plan, but here he is, off to a nice start in 2013. He has completed 32 of 70 passes for 439 yards. That 45.7 completion ratio is a bit low, but he has five touchdowns and just one interception and, according to Griffins coach John Barnes, a banged-up offensive line has not been protecting Wendell very well. Consequently his body and statistics have taken some hits.

Barnes is impressed.

“He knew from the minute that he got hurt that he wanted to play again, that he was going to do whatever it took,” said Barnes, whose 3-0 team — ranked No. 4 in the CIF-SS Southwest Division — will play at Lynwood (1-2) tonight at 7. “ACL, there’s a lot of pain with that injury, a lot of rehab. But he did it all, worked his tail off, never wavered, came back on the practice field.

“I think maybe in the spring he was a little nervous, but now we put him through a baptism of fire getting him killed and he’s just handled that great.”

The rehabilitation was grueling.

“I went to therapy for a whole calendar year,” said Wendell, who is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. “I went three times a week, so I was there almost all the time.”

Wendell laughed a little, but not because anything was funny.

“My therapist just worked me every week, ‘Just do something new, just get better,’ ” he said. “Eventually, I was just ready to run and come out here and play football.”

At first, he was cautious.

“In the beginning my knee, honestly, wasn’t really that strong,” Wendell said. “I wasn’t really confident in it, but once I got into two-a-days and everything and hell week, I felt a little bit stronger. So I’m confident in my knee, 100 percent.”

He thought about the knee every time he dropped back to pass.

“But I’ve progressed to where I really don’t even think about it now,” Wendell said.

He doesn’t think about the pounding he’s taking, either.

“Everything’s fine,” he said when asked how the knee has held up under the punishment. “It’s all about being a tough guy, like coach Barnes says. I’m not missing any time this year.”

Senior wide receiver Dashawn Gordon is Wendell’s top target. Like Barnes, he marvels at Wendell’s grit.

“Oh, man, he came back real tough, although our line has been a little shaky and he’s been taking a lot of hits.” said Gordon, who has 18 receptions for 295 yards and five touchdowns. “I’m really proud of him because he’s mentally tough.”

Barnes said even before Wendell was ready to practice again, he’d be out “throwing the ball when he could, one-legged.”

It’s that type of mettle that helps a player get a college scholarship. But Wendell missed his junior season, when recruits are getting serious looks. Barnes admitted that did not do Wendell any favors, but he still believes Wendell can and will play at the next level.

“He’s got size and arm strength and skill to play in college, there’s no doubt about it,” Barnes said. “But not playing as a junior, that set him back a lot because so many juniors get seen now. They look at the junior almost more than the senior.

“But do we still have kids who get a scholarship after one year? Yeah, a lot of them around here. If he has a great year and he stands out he has that opportunity.”

Wendell said he is not concerned with that at this time. Not that he doesn’t want to play in college, but he’s currently living his dream and wants to relish the moment.

“Honestly, I’m not really thinking about that,” Wendell said Tuesday following practice. “I’m just thinking about playing this year. I just wanted to play high school football no matter what. If I have a good year and play college football, that happens. If it doesn’t, I can say I came back and did it.”

There was a prideful smile on Wendell’s face, one that likely wasn’t there in 2012.