Rivers ready for life after football after neck injury ends playing career
Former Sherando star Dylan Rivers will no longer play football for Virginia Tech because of a neck injury. The junior linebacker will help the Hokies’ strength and conditioning staff during his senior year.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech
A long-time physical pain finally led to a painful emotional decision for Dylan Rivers.
The former Sherando star announced on social media two weeks ago that he would no longer play football for Virginia Tech because of a neck injury. The junior linebacker made the announcement after Virginia Tech’s 37-30 loss to Kentucky in the Belk Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Rivers will still be a big part of the football program in 2020 though — Rivers said he’ll be helping the team by working with the Hokies’ strength and conditioning staff.
Rivers said he’d had issues with his neck since his final couple of years at Sherando, but this year proved to be particularly difficult for him. He missed two-and-a-half weeks because of his neck in the preseason, then hurt his neck again in practice before the Belk Bowl, which was the only game Rivers missed this year.
Though he’s holding off on surgery for now, Rivers said he’ll likely have a spinal fusion this summer if he’s still having issues with his neck. Spinal fusion involves joining vertebrae together.
“When I realized I couldn’t put a helmet on again, it was pretty emotional,” said Rivers in a phone interview on Monday. “It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. The one thing I always put forth 100 percent of my effort towards was football.
“But after I started talking to [Ben Hilgart, Virginia Tech’s associate athletics director for strength and conditioning] he said I could be a strength coach for my senior year, so that kind of put me back in a place that I wanted to be.”
Hilgart arrived at Virginia Tech in January of 2016 after spending four years at New Mexico. He was hired two months after Virginia Tech hired Justin Fuente, who had spent the previous four years as the head coach at Memphis. According to multiple media reports, Baylor is interested in Fuente for its current head coach opening.
Rivers said the injury not only would prevent him from being the type of football player he’s used to being, but it also affects his day-to-day life.
“It changes everything,” Rivers said. “From the way that I hit and the way that I tackle.
“Basically, it changes the way I do things on a daily basis. I can’t really stand in a certain place [for long periods of time] or [my neck] will start bothering me. I can’t do things like playing pick-up basketball or driving long distances.”
Rivers was a consistent contributor on defense as a sophomore, starting the first seven games of the year before missing two contests with an injury and finishing with 35 tackles. This year, Rivers returned to the role he had as a freshman when he was a special teams contributor. Rivers made five tackles (three solo) for the Hokies (8-5).
Rivers said he took a “pretty bad hit” in August, which hurt his chances of carving out a consistent role on defense this year.
“Both my hands went numb, and I took a break after that,” Rivers said. “We had a lot of good linebackers [this year]. That time away from camp kind of hurt me, 100 percent, but there’s nothing I could really do, especially when you’re dealing with the injury that I have.”
Rivers said he was able to practice on a consistent basis during the regular season, and he played on the kickoff, kickoff return and punt return teams this year.
But in practice prior to the Dec. 31 Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., Rivers said he experienced multiple “stingers,” which are nerve injuries of the neck. Then in the week leading up to the game, Rivers said suffered a “pretty bad” stinger. About three days before the Belk Bowl, Rivers and the doctors he consulted decided the best course of action would be for Rivers to shut himself down and not practice or play in the Belk Bowl.
After the bowl game, on New Year’s Day, Rivers and his family talked and he decided to stop playing football entirely because of the potential for more damage. It was a difficult decision to make, but talking to Hilgart lifted Rivers up.
“My teammates are my best friends,” Rivers said. “Just to be around them was kind of the most important thing to me.”
Football has always been important to Rivers. Prior to arriving at Virginia Tech, Rivers was an all-state player as both a linebacker and tight end and was The Winchester Star’s 2016 Defensive Player of the Year.
“[Football] has been my whole life,” Rivers said. “It was my first love. Football’s been everything to me and it’s been everything to my family. I don’t know what I’m going to do next year when all my teammates and best friends run out onto the field and I can’t. I’m going to come to terms with it and deal with it. But I’ve grown to love football more than anybody can ever describe.”
Rivers might be done playing for the Hokies, but he’s glad he’ll get to give back to the college that’s given so much to him.
“I love this school,” Rivers said. “Virginia Tech is one of the best schools in the world, 110 percent. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who’s gone to Tech who has not liked their time there. It’s got a great football tradition and it’s just a great place to be.”
- By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI The Winchester Star
- Jan 15, 2020 Updated 11 hrs ago
Former Sherando star Dylan Rivers will no longer play football for Virginia Tech because of a neck injury. The junior linebacker will help the Hokies’ strength and conditioning staff during his senior year.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech
A long-time physical pain finally led to a painful emotional decision for Dylan Rivers.
The former Sherando star announced on social media two weeks ago that he would no longer play football for Virginia Tech because of a neck injury. The junior linebacker made the announcement after Virginia Tech’s 37-30 loss to Kentucky in the Belk Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Rivers will still be a big part of the football program in 2020 though — Rivers said he’ll be helping the team by working with the Hokies’ strength and conditioning staff.
Rivers said he’d had issues with his neck since his final couple of years at Sherando, but this year proved to be particularly difficult for him. He missed two-and-a-half weeks because of his neck in the preseason, then hurt his neck again in practice before the Belk Bowl, which was the only game Rivers missed this year.
Though he’s holding off on surgery for now, Rivers said he’ll likely have a spinal fusion this summer if he’s still having issues with his neck. Spinal fusion involves joining vertebrae together.
“When I realized I couldn’t put a helmet on again, it was pretty emotional,” said Rivers in a phone interview on Monday. “It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. The one thing I always put forth 100 percent of my effort towards was football.
“But after I started talking to [Ben Hilgart, Virginia Tech’s associate athletics director for strength and conditioning] he said I could be a strength coach for my senior year, so that kind of put me back in a place that I wanted to be.”
Hilgart arrived at Virginia Tech in January of 2016 after spending four years at New Mexico. He was hired two months after Virginia Tech hired Justin Fuente, who had spent the previous four years as the head coach at Memphis. According to multiple media reports, Baylor is interested in Fuente for its current head coach opening.
Rivers said the injury not only would prevent him from being the type of football player he’s used to being, but it also affects his day-to-day life.
“It changes everything,” Rivers said. “From the way that I hit and the way that I tackle.
“Basically, it changes the way I do things on a daily basis. I can’t really stand in a certain place [for long periods of time] or [my neck] will start bothering me. I can’t do things like playing pick-up basketball or driving long distances.”
Rivers was a consistent contributor on defense as a sophomore, starting the first seven games of the year before missing two contests with an injury and finishing with 35 tackles. This year, Rivers returned to the role he had as a freshman when he was a special teams contributor. Rivers made five tackles (three solo) for the Hokies (8-5).
Rivers said he took a “pretty bad hit” in August, which hurt his chances of carving out a consistent role on defense this year.
“Both my hands went numb, and I took a break after that,” Rivers said. “We had a lot of good linebackers [this year]. That time away from camp kind of hurt me, 100 percent, but there’s nothing I could really do, especially when you’re dealing with the injury that I have.”
Rivers said he was able to practice on a consistent basis during the regular season, and he played on the kickoff, kickoff return and punt return teams this year.
But in practice prior to the Dec. 31 Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., Rivers said he experienced multiple “stingers,” which are nerve injuries of the neck. Then in the week leading up to the game, Rivers said suffered a “pretty bad” stinger. About three days before the Belk Bowl, Rivers and the doctors he consulted decided the best course of action would be for Rivers to shut himself down and not practice or play in the Belk Bowl.
After the bowl game, on New Year’s Day, Rivers and his family talked and he decided to stop playing football entirely because of the potential for more damage. It was a difficult decision to make, but talking to Hilgart lifted Rivers up.
“My teammates are my best friends,” Rivers said. “Just to be around them was kind of the most important thing to me.”
Football has always been important to Rivers. Prior to arriving at Virginia Tech, Rivers was an all-state player as both a linebacker and tight end and was The Winchester Star’s 2016 Defensive Player of the Year.
“[Football] has been my whole life,” Rivers said. “It was my first love. Football’s been everything to me and it’s been everything to my family. I don’t know what I’m going to do next year when all my teammates and best friends run out onto the field and I can’t. I’m going to come to terms with it and deal with it. But I’ve grown to love football more than anybody can ever describe.”
Rivers might be done playing for the Hokies, but he’s glad he’ll get to give back to the college that’s given so much to him.
“I love this school,” Rivers said. “Virginia Tech is one of the best schools in the world, 110 percent. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who’s gone to Tech who has not liked their time there. It’s got a great football tradition and it’s just a great place to be.”
