Tyson Gentry (Official Thread)

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Wednesday, October 29, 2008
OSU's Gentry is Courage Award nominee
Buckeye faces partial paralysis


Gentry


By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS - It is not unusual for Ohio State to see a half-dozen members of its team nominated annually for college football's most prestigious awards. The Heisman, Lombardi, Butkus, Nagurski - there are usually Buckeyes on the ballot when those honors are decided. Tyson Gentry won't play at all this season for Ohio State, but he could add to the prodigious collection of hardware that graces the foyer of the Woody Hayes Center and lines its hallways. The Ohio State senior is being considered for this year's FedEx Orange Bowl Courage Award, and his credentials have to make him one of the favorites to win the honor at season's end. The Courage Award is presented annually to a player, coach or a support person in college football who has demonstrated exceptional bravery and an indomitable spirit. Gentry, who was off-balance when he hit the turf as he was tackled after catching a pass in a spring scrimmage in 2006, is partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. But Gentry is still very involved with the Ohio State team. He is a regular part of team meetings, practices, and is on the sideline at home games. The Sandusky Perkins graduate suffered a fracture of the C-4 vertebra in his neck and has had several surgeries since the incident, including one to stabilize the injured area by fusing the C3 and C5 vertebrae. He has been undergoing a rigorous rehabilitation regimen, and has some movement in his arms, shoulders and head. "It was an ordinary play," Gentry said about the moment that changed his life. "It wasn't really a big hit, I just kind of fell awkwardly." Gentry, whose dad also played for the Buckeyes, had made the team several years ago as a walk-on punter, but was helping out in the scrimmage by working at receiver. Following the injury, he has continued his studies and will be honored with the rest of the Ohio State seniors at the Nov. 22 Michigan game. Gentry expects to graduate in the spring with a degree in speech and hearing science.
Cont...

 

[ysubuck]

This alone would be worth going to the Shoe for this Saturday.

Michigan game and Tyson's senior day!! The Shoe should be rocking when his name is announced!!!!:) Kid is an inspiration.

 

[BB73]

Departing seniors were asked about their experience at tOSU.

dispatch

Tyson Gentry

Punter

Sandusky, Ohio | Age: 23

Parting thought: "It's been a dream come true to play and be a part of the team. I am grateful to my family for always being there for me through the good times and the bad; to my coaches for giving me the opportunity to be part of one of the greatest groups of guys to come through Ohio State; and to my teammates for picking me up and always making me feel like part of the team."

 

[Steve19]

Tyson, thank you for showing us all how to handle adversity and rise above it. God bless you and good luck!

 

[OregonBuckeye]

Any pics of him yesterday?

EDIT- Found one(on the-ozone, of course)

And a couple more. Maybe I should just search next time.

 

[ohiostate=life]

Tyson

I didn't make it to the Skull Session so I was unaware he was elected to speak. Great article.

 

[OWUBuckeye51]

I must pass this along...

As a graduate student at Ohio State, I was fortunate enough to take a class this quarter taught by Gene & Sheila Smith - The Business of College Sports. Basically, each class consists of a discussion on a topic central to a specific aspect of tOSU Athletic Dept.

For our final, we split up into groups and deliver a presentation (and 20+ page paper) to Gene and Sheila.

One group's topic was the economic impact of sports injuries and they had a guest speaker - none other than Tyson Gentry himself. This particular group had emailed him and requested he come speak about the emotional impact of sports injuries.

It was one of the most touching speeches I have ever heard. Tyson is a proud kid - he just wants to be a college student and enjoy life. A few things of note from Tyson's speech: one, I have never heard 42 people so quiet and focused on what someone had to say. Two, Tyson said that Jim Tressel is an extraordinary man and has gone out of this way to ease this transition for him. Three, Tyson Gentry has an amazing outlook on life and incredible perspective. He has handled life's adversity, is a special person, and is a champion in the truest sense of the word.

Tyson - you are an example of what every Buckeye athlete and student should aspire to be.

 

[ohiostate=life]

I must pass this along...

As a graduate student at Ohio State, I was fortunate enough to take a class this quarter taught by Gene & Sheila Smith - The Business of College Sports. Basically, each class consists of a discussion on a topic central to a specific aspect of tOSU Athletic Dept.

For our final, we split up into groups and deliver a presentation (and 20+ page paper) to Gene and Sheila.

One group's topic was the economic impact of sports injuries and they had a guest speaker - none other than Tyson Gentry himself. This particular group had emailed him and requested he come speak about the emotional impact of sports injuries.

It was one of the most touching speeches I have ever heard. Tyson is a proud kid - he just wants to be a college student and enjoy life. A few things of note from Tyson's speech: one, I have never heard 42 people so quiet and focused on what someone had to say. Two, Tyson said that Jim Tressel is an extraordinary man and has gone out of this way to ease this transition for him. Three, Tyson Gentry has an amazing outlook on life and incredible perspective. He has handled life's adversity, is a special person, and is a champion in the truest sense of the word.

Tyson - you are an example of what every Buckeye athlete and student should aspire to be.

Thanks for sharing. Good post

 

[BB73]

Tyson was given the team's Bo Rein Most Inspirational Player Award for 2008.

 

[osugrad21]

Scout Free--Gentry An Inspiration To His Teammates

 

[BB73]

Coach Joe Daniels is the first recipient of the Tyson Gentry Courage Award.

official.site

National Football Foundation of Columbus Honors Three Buckeyes
...

Daniels, who just finished his eighth season at Ohio State in 2008, was the recipient of the [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1151212"]Tyson Gentry[/URL] Courage Award. He completed his 38th year of coaching overall despite limitations from an ongoing battle with cancer.

Daniels is the first to receive the Gentry Award, established in 2009 to honor Gentry's courage and determination since suffering a life-changing neck injury in 2006. Earlier this month, Gentry earned his first letter from the football team and received his varsity jacket from head coach [URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87743&SPID=10408&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1059367"]Jim Tressel[/URL]. He also was the winner of the 2008 Bo Rein Award as Ohio State's most-inspirational player from the 2008 team.

Cont'd ...

 

[southcampus]

Tyson Gentry may be the most inspirational player on the Buckeyes team. As I stood in the North Stands before The Game, I was thinking what must be going through Tyson Gentry's head? He has his life turned upside down in a split second yet still continues to pursue his goals. When they called him out of the tunnel for one last time, I can honestly admit that it was the only time I've ever shed a tear over a sporting event. I have all the respect in the world for this guy and I hope to see him continue his strength and courage even after he has left Ohio State.

 

[WoodyWorshiper]

Tyson Gentry may be the most inspirational player on the Buckeyes team. As I stood in the North Stands before The Game, I was thinking what must be going through Tyson Gentry's head? He has his life turned upside down in a split second yet still continues to pursue his goals. When they called him out of the tunnel for one last time, I can honestly admit that it was the only time I've ever shed a tear over a sporting event. I have all the respect in the world for this guy and I hope to see him continue his strength and courage even after he has left Ohio State.

A+ post here, my friend. Nobody could have said it better.

 

[Buckskin86]

Degree of difficulty
Sunday, February 22, 2009
By JASON LLOYD
[email protected]

Three years ago, when the family appeared publicly for the first time since Tyson Gentry?s spinal cord injury, Bob Gentry said something that has resonated with me ever since.

Someone asked Bob, a father of three, what his family learned from each other through such a trying ordeal.

?Our strength as a family is kind of tough to beat,? Bob said. ?We didn?t have to say, ?Geez, I wish we?d have done this? or ?Why didn?t we think of that?? We didn?t have regrets of any kind. That?s not us as a family.?

This is a story of that strength. Remarkably, Tyson is on target to graduate in June with a degree in speech pathology. It took him five years -- the same time it takes most college students to complete a bachelor?s degree these days. Only Tyson did it while battling a fractured vertebra and paralysis.

Without his sister, Ashley, and his father, Bob, he never would have made it this far. This is his story through their eyes.

The sister

Ashley and Tyson Gentry have never shared the normal brother/sister relationship because, well, they never hated each other.

Only a year and a half apart, Ashley and Tyson were inseparable as kids. And adults.

?They?ve always been joined at the hip,? Bob says. ?They played out in the woods chasing crawdads and frogs and did all the little things typical little kids do together. That grew into golfing together and shopping and just being together all the time.?

When it was time for college, the decision was simple. Tyson was asked to be a preferred walk-on at Ohio State. He never had unrealistic dreams of being a star, he just wanted to follow his father and play for the Buckeyes. Ashley was already a student at Capital. The two would live together, along with two other of Tyson?s high school buddies.

Tyson was paralyzed in April of 2006, and Ashley graduated in May. That should have meant the start of her professional career, but she wasn?t about to leave her brother.

?I was going to do whatever I had to do to be there for him and get him through things,? Ashley said. ?When it comes down to it, I?d hope a lot of people would do the same thing I did. Everything was in place. I didn?t have any attachments I couldn?t break.

?It?s nothing he wouldn?t do for me.?

Degree of difficulty Morning Journal: Serving Lorain, Erie, Huron and western Cuyahoga counties

 

[osugrad21]

Unbelievable heart...

Link

Gentry able to move both legs

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 1:23 AM EST
By JASON LLOYD
[email protected]
This is why Tyson Gentry's family never gave up hope, for days like this.

"Within the last three weeks, Ty has gained movement in both of his legs," Bob Gentry, Tyson's father, wrote me in an e-mail this week. "In his world, that is huge. The neat part is that you don't have to stare and wonder if you saw them move. That emotion is off the charts."

Some of you have followed with great interest Gentry's battle to walk again. Ever since the Perkins grad was paralyzed during an Ohio State spring practice three years ago, Gentry has vowed to walk again. Days like this make it seem close to happening.

"(Tyson's) comment regarding the movement: Can't hate that," Bob wrote. "I know he will figure all of this out along with all the means in which to stay focused and push. He will figure it out."
It looks like he's getting closer by the day.