‘Every day I’m beating the odds,’ Shazier says
After Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier went down with a frightening spinal injury while attempting a routine tackle on Dec. 4, 2017, the first non-Steeler or doctor he can remember seeing was Jerome Howard. A former Plantation High football teammate and close friend, Howard is also his trainer.
“He told me, ‘Let’s pray. We’re going to get through this. If you need me, whatever you need me to do, I’m here for you, and I love you. You’re my brother,’ ” Shazier recalled recently.
Howard was there for Shazier at that harrowing time, when doctors were doubtful he would walk again. Howard has been there for him long before Shazier was a Pro Bowl selection or allAmerican at Ohio State. Howard continues to be by his side as, nearly 19 months after being diagnosed with a spinal contusion and undergoing spinal stabilization surgery, he pursues an NFL comeback.
“I actually had mixed emotions,” Howard said at a camp for Plantation High football players run by his training company, Dynamic Performance Development. The camp featured Shazier as a guest star. “Part of it, of course, was a devastating moment to see him go down that way, but then another part of it was ‘Who better than me to help him get back to where he was before?’ So part of it was a badge of honour that he chose me and wanted me to help him fight this battle.”
Shazier, 26, and Howard met as eighth-graders who began working out with Plantation football players the summer before beginning high school. Shazier instead enrolled at Blanche Ely to start. However, he transferred to Plantation for his sophomore year, and they were reunited. Shazier, who played defensive end in high school, went on to become a Buckeye linebacker, while Howard, a linebacker, ended up at Prairie View A&M.
They kept in contact during college, with Howard catching Shazier’s games when possible and the two getting together at home during breaks and holidays. Since he was always the one who would push his teammates in workouts, Howard became a professional trainer. So it was only natural for the two to work together.
Then the game in Cincinnati late in 2017 changed everything.
Initially told by doctors he had less than a 20 per cent chance of walking again, Shazier surpassed that hurdle, famously walking across the stage on national TV at the NFL draft in April 2018. As he was able to resume working out, it has been Howard at his side, even travelling with Shazier, guiding him through a progression of workouts and providing moral support.
“With his injury being so different, the biggest thing for us was just understanding where he was in his current place, (reaching a) few milestones along the way and then celebrating every win,” said Howard, whom Shazier says is like family to him.
“With someone with a work ethic like Ryan’s, it’s not very hard. Anyone that’s met him understands his optimism, his positivity, and he’s never afraid to go above and beyond,” Howard continued. “We had our tough moments. We had our ups and downs, but with our relationship together, we were able to be 100 per cent honest with each other, reflect.”
Those tracking Shazier’s recovery have seen public milestones, such as his draft appearance or last October, when he walked onto the field at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, where the injury occurred. He has posted workout progress on his Instagram account, showing he’s able to do different workouts such as deadlifts (lifting a barbell off the floor) and box jumps (a standing jump onto a high box or platform).
At the Dynamic Performance Development camp with Howard, Shazier demonstrated for campers the TRX row, a back-strengthening exercise where one pulls their body forward while holding on to straps attached diagonally to an overhead pull-up bar. Shazier said he has been able to do the TRX row for some time now.
“I try to be appreciative of every day I get,” Shazier said. “Because every day I’m beating the odds. Every day I’m getting better, proving people wrong that never thought I’d be where I am. I constantly am proud of where I’m at.
“There are some moments that people see that are a little bigger than others.”
While a comeback won’t happen during the 2019 season, since the Steelers have him on the physically unable to perform list, Shazier’s ultimate goals remain unchanged from what they were before his injury.
“I still want to make the Hall of Fame, still want to be the best linebacker in the NFL,” he said. “I’m not giving up on my goals, and the doctors said don’t give up on my goals, so there’s no problem with me doing that.
“I’m just going to keep working, and hopefully I’m going to be back as soon as I can.”