Too much to shoulder: Ben Bywater 'done with college football' after injury

PROVO — Ben Bywater was making significant progress from last season's season-ending shoulder injury, and excited to get back on the field as a focal point of BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill's scheme in his second year.

But time comes for every man, woman and football player.

Bywater announced his medical retirement from college football Wednesday, exiting the program as the Cougars' active career leader in tackles with 247. He'll still be around to support his friends, brothers and comrades, but not in any official capacity with the team, he said, after conversations with medical personnel revealed a more severe shoulder injury than was initially thought.

"I had some tough conversations the other day," said Bywater, a spectator at the Cougars' first practice of training camp in street clothes. "My shoulder is not cleared to go, and I won't be medically cleared to go. It looks like my days of playing BYU football are behind me. It absolutely breaks my heart; I worked my tail off to get back, and never got better.

"I'm dealing with some nerve damage, had multiple surgeries, I've seen the best doctors in the world, and I've done everything I could — crossed every T, dotted every I I could to get the shoulder to come back. It's just a bummer."

Bywater said he hasn't closed the door on potentially giving the NFL a shot, but his days in college football are done, and the "next step" for the sixth-year senior is simply to get healthy.

"I've got to get that nerve back," Bywater said. "The doctors that I've talked with, including at the Mayo Clinic, said it just takes time. The time period didn't line up with playing football this fall.

"My No. 1 goal is to get healthy."

Bywater told his teammates the decision when they checked into training camp Tuesday, so his teammates were aware of the situation by the time he stepped in front of a microphone and a handful of local media to make his decision known.

That didn't make the move any less of a shock, though. Harrison Taggart, the redshirt sophomore from Corner Canyon by way of Oregon, said he was surprised that Bywater was hanging up the cleats — even as he worked out with Bywater through the summer, including offseason weight lifting.

"It's devastating," Taggart said. "Ben was a huge part of the team, a massive leader; he's been here forever. Ben's a huge leader, and this year he took us all boating, took us up to his cabin, and was just a great guy. We're going to have to figure out what we do without him. But I love the guy."

Taggart will be among the top contenders to fill a large hole for the departing Bywater, as well as sophomore Siale Esera, UCLA transfer Choé Bryant-Strother, and cousins Ace and Maika Kaufusi, among others.

"I definitely would like to push myself to become a better leader on the team, help rally guys when times get rough," Taggart said. "That's where I see my role getting pushed to, but everybody's got to work toward it."

But replacing Bywater won't be easy. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound middle linebacker totaled 32 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack in four games last year before a season-ending shoulder injury suffered in a 38-27 road loss to Kansas curtailed his redshirt junior season.

Bywater erupted in the Cougars' front seven in 2021, when he totaled 102 tackles with 57 solo stops and a sack in his first year as a full-time starter. He impressed further a year later, when he pulled down three interceptions, including his first career pick-six, en route to a 24-23 win over SMU and New Mexico Bowl Defensive MVP honors in what will formally go down as his sophomore season.

But health began to unravel the promising former Olympus High rugby standout's career against the Jayhawks, when he told the Y's Guys podcast in January that he felt his shoulder "just popped," as if a "50-caliber shot right through my shoulder."

"Going into the season, it was everything I dream of," he added. "I was getting some love from the NFL, we were playing in a big league, and I had Jay Hill coming in — a heavy hitter bringing energy. When it happened, I was so bummed, but for some reason, I felt peace."

Bywater was BYU's top tackler in 2021 and 2022, and he had hopes of adding a third beginning with the Cougars' season opener Aug. 29 against FCS foe Southern Illinois.

But mostly, he hopes he's remembered as a tough tackler who played the game his way.

"I hope I'm remembered as someone who came in and competed hard, but did it my way,'" Bywater said. "I feel like I always had a little personality to my play, and I never felt like I ever stopped being me. Hopefully I'm just a guy who young kids can look up to; if Ben Bywater did it, then I can do it. That's what I want young kids to think of when they see me."

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