ABILENE - Dr. Vernon Shazier vividly — painfully — remembers the distressed phone call he received from his oldest son, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, on the night of Dec. 4, 2017.
"Dad, I need you to pray for me. I can't feel my legs."
Over seven years later, Ryan's words still flood Vernon with emotion. They take him back to arguably the most challenging time in his life, when his conviction was challenged like never before. Suddenly, the man that had relied so much on his faith throughout his life was left searching for answers.
Vernon shared his story of resilience and trust with Abilene Christian student-athletes and athletic staff on Monday night at the department's chapel at Wildcat Stadium. He discussed how he grappled with the grief of a football play that threatened to paralyze his son below the waist for life and effectively brought an end to his playing career.
Vernon's testimony was part of the ACU Advantage, a first of its kind, comprehensive intentional leadership and spiritual development program launched by Vice President of Athletics
Zack Lassiter in 2022.
The initiative seeks to enable Wildcat coaches to become spiritual leaders of their programs in accordance with ACU's mission statement "to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world."
"We feel like one of the most important parts of helping our student-athletes in that journey is a coach," Lassiter said. "We ask our coaches to be the spiritual leaders of their program. … We want to make sure that we're equipping them with all the tools that we can, not only here within our community at ACU, because we've got amazing tools and leadership on that, but also external support on that as well.
"We've really, really thought about, how do we equip them with that throughout the year so they can then pour into their student-athletes in ways that can help them take their next step in their faith journey?"
Vernon guided those in attendance through his Christian journey, from his calling to embrace his faith and become a preacher to his move from South Florida to Waco, Texas to attend Baylor University's theological seminary, with his young family in tow, one car and hardly any money in his pocket. Vernon's testimony was headlined by his unwavering faith in the Lord after tragedy struck his family.
Ryan was a first-team All-American at Ohio State before being selected 15th overall by the Steelers in the 2014 NFL draft. He was named to two Pro Bowls across a four-year career in which he amassed nearly 300 tackles, the last of which left him wondering if he would ever be able to walk again.
Less than four minutes into a Monday Night Football game between the Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017, Ryan leapt headfirst into a tackle of an opposing wide receiver. Yet he remained on the Paul Brown Stadium turf after the play, clutching his lower back and hastily calling for assistance from the Pittsburgh medical staff.
After being carted off the field and transported to a local hospital, Ryan was diagnosed with a spinal contusion that required surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation process. Doctors said Ryan would likely never be able to walk again. Such began his path to recovery, all while Vernon grappled with how such a tragedy could afflict his family.
As Vernon found his faith tested, the preacher and former engineer realized he had a decision to make in wholeheartedly embracing his trust in the Lord. He discovered the importance of quite literally "standing on the word of God" throughout Ryan's recovery.
Vernon's trust in Christ was met with continued improvement to his son's condition. Within several months, Ryan developed feeling in his legs. In April 2018, he walked across the stage at the NFL draft with his then-fiancée to announce the Steelers' first-round selection.
With time, Ryan was able to walk on his own, drive, exercise and lift weights. He married his fiancée in May 2019, and the two had their first child together. Soon after, Ryan returned to school to complete his psychology degree.
While Ryan never made his return to the playing field, Vernon said he feels his injury has allowed him to inspire far more people than he could through the game of football alone. For both the father and son, their stories are ones of resilience, faith and trust in Christ.
"I think we all connect with different people depending on who we are and what our story is," Lassiter said. " … We want to always be putting folks in front of our student-athletes who have a story that hopefully they can resonate with or connect with. I thought [Dr. Shazier] did an amazing job kind of speaking about his own faith journey, how it was challenged the way it was, and I think for some people in the audience, that probably resonated with them because they can connect to that.
"We understand that we don't all connect with everyone, but if there's a way to unlock that in our student-athletes, we want to find people that can do that."
