This isn’t how former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier planned his life to go but you have to applaud how the former NFL star has thrived. Shazier, who had his promising NFL career cut short when he suffered a spinal cord injury during a game in December of 2017, announced on social media on Friday he is now a proud Ohio State graduate.

Shazier was on the verge of NFL stardom when his career was taken away from him. But since then, Shazier has defied the odds in not only his recovery when it was believed he wouldn’t walk again but in his ability to use what happened to him to not only inspire others but help so many in the Pittsburgh area and beyond.