Stanford center Graham Shuler had one year of college eligibility remaining. He would have entered 2016 as the Cardinal’s starting center, then had a shot at an NFL career.
Instead, Shuler is retiring from football “to chase my dreams and opportunities outside of football,” he announced Tuesday in an essay posted to Medium.
Almost four years ago I chose to leave the comfort of Nashville and the southern football-loving culture with which I was so familiar. In doing so, I was taking a chance to pursue the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the greatest university in the world. At that time, I wasn’t making a decision predicated on the next four years, but on the next forty years. This January I found myself in the similar position of making a long-term decision. I could continue to play football or I could move on to pursue new passions and opportunities.
I came to Stanford for a multitude of reasons. At Stanford I am surrounded by professors, TAs, teammates, and friends who refuse to doubt — young men and women who dream and take chances. I watched and learned how to balance life in ways that only make sense in Silicon Valley. Stanford has empowered me beyond my wildest dreams. After wrestling with this decision for the last several weeks, I feel a strong sense of empowerment to do something different — to chase my dreams and opportunities outside of football.
Shuler will graduate from Stanford with a degree in science, technology and society, according to the Stanford Daily but retains a year of eligibility after redshirting his freshman year. He was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 in 2015.
NFLdraftscout.com ranks Shuler fourth among centers projected to enter the 2017 draft, and WalterFootball.com had him 12th among center prospects for the 2016 draft.
Though Shuler did not explain why he is quitting football, it’s hard not to think about Chris Borland and other players who have retired early to preserve their long-term health. Earlier Tuesday, former NFL receiver Antwaan Randle El said he suffers from memory loss at age 36 and regrets playing football instead of basketball. Despite the new trend of playings retiring at earlier ages, you rarely see it at the collegiate level, especially for players who have not had much injury history and had a strong likelihood of finding a roster spot in the NFL.
While Shuler did not specifically cite health as a reason for his retirement, you’d have to believe it was a factor. It must have been a tough decision to make and we wish him the best of luck to him in whatever is next although most Stanford grads typically do not need it.
