How could I give up on them? It was very motivating for me” LeGrand told Greater Than The Game. “I got all these people looking up to me calling me an inspiration, believing in me. LeGrand felt that having this support system gave him the responsibility to keep going.

While at Kessler he would receive visits from friends, family, and teammates, along with letters from well-wishers from across the world. By that time his injury was national and international news. In early November LeGrand arrived at the Kessler Institute to begin rehab. “I don’t believe in never because you never know, between faith, hard work, and stubbornness you never know how strong you really are,” he stated.

It was on a kickoff late in the fourth quarter of a match-up with Army where LeGrand suffered the injury to his C3 and C4 vertebrae that left him paralyzed.Įarly on, Doctors told LeGrand’s family that he may never breathe on his own or eat solid food again, but LeGrand didn’t count himself out. His ability to get around blockers and get downfield on the kickoff made him a weapon in the field position game.

One of the places LeGrand thrived was on the kickoff team. In 33 games as a Scarlet Knight, he had 60 tackles and 2.5 sacks. This performance caught the attention of the Rutgers coaching staff and they offered LeGrand a verbal scholarship as a freshman, an offer he would take two years later as a junior. In those three games, he racked up 45 tackles. During his freshmen year, he was called up to Varsity for the last three games of the season. By the time he reached high school, LeGrand’s mix of size, speed, and athletic ability made him a force on both offense and defense at Colonia High School. It wasn’t long before he moved from the side yard to the football field. Being one of the biggest and most athletic kids in his neighborhood, he loved the thrill of shedding defenders and scoring. Like most kids, Eric LeGrand’s football journey started by playing in the yard of his childhood home. As he and his team moved, arms linked, towards midfield, the crowd’s cheers of “52” (his jersey number) rang through the stadium and fans waved signs that read “Rutgers Believes.” Now, almost 12 years later, it’s not just Rutgers that believes in Eric LeGrand, but people all over the world. Almost a year to the day, LeGrand had suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. This time he led his team onto the field from a wheelchair. LeGrand had made this run many times before, but this was different. As Rutgers University defensive tackle Eric LeGrand waited in the tunnel of Highpoint Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, he could hear the crowd growing restless as they eagerly awaited for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to run onto the snow-covered field.

Believe by eric legrand