Out of the Wreckage: The Comeback Story of Mizzou's Anthony Sherrils
10/28/2015 9:09:00 AM | Football
Imagine everything you have worked for being taken from you in an instant. Mizzou sophomore safety Anthony Sherrils experienced that possibility first hand after a traumatic brain injury in a car accident nearly ended his college football career before it even started. What has followed is an incredible story of dedication and perseverance that has led to Sherrils starting at strong safety for one of the nation's most feared defensive units, a feat many thought impossible after the accident two years ago.
"Football wasn't even a question," Sherrils commented. "I couldn't walk."
For a player who boasted elite speed and incredible on-field instincts, football would have to take a back seat as he focused on basic motor functions, including learning to walk again. But for those who know Sherrils, the strides he has made over the last two years is no surprise.
"Through his whole life, he has been resilient," Mizzou safeties coach Ryan Walters said. "It just adds to his character and his determination and speaks to his will as a human being."
June 11, 2013
During his freshman year summer, Sherrils was like any other student at Mizzou. Without a car on campus, Sherrils would hitch rides back-and-forth from the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex to campus. On June 11, 2013, Sherrils and teammate Eric Beisel hopped into the car of a fellow Mizzou athlete – track and field jumper Danielle Williams – as she offered to take the two to class. A simple favor from a fellow athlete led to Sherrils nearly having his dream of playing college football taken away.
While turning left over oncoming traffic from Stadium Boulevard onto Monk Drive on the Mizzou campus, Williams failed to yield and her car was broadsided, sending Sherrils' head smashing against the window. He would need to be extracted from the car by emergency officials and was sent to University Hospital with a head injury. While the injury was once thought to be minor, the coming days proved that the injury was anything from that.
"We got in the car – he sat in the back and I sat in the front," Sherrils said. "That's the last thing I remember."
Sherrils suffered what is classified as a traumatic brain injury, with severe bleeding of the brain.
The memories of the coming days for the Kansas City native remained fuzzy, but there was one thing he did remember: knowing that it was going to be a long road to recovery. Football was on the backburner as Sherrils struggled with even the basic motor skills.
"I was working out in rehabilitation, doing stuff with my feet and walking up the stairs and I was feeling better," Sherrils said. "Every day I was making steps and progress and I was like; 'Okay, maybe football can be an option.'"
But for the resilient young man with 4.31 speed in the 40-yard dash, it's no surprise that his recovery could be summed up in one word: quick.
"The hospital said I made a speedy recovery," Sherrils said. "It was so fast that they were like, 'wow, how did he do it?' But you know it was the grace of God and my family backing me up 100 percent and I made it through."
To his doctor's surprise, it took six weeks before Sherrils was working out and trying to get back on the football field.
"It speaks a lot to him and who he is as an individual and his work ethic and also the support staff we have here at Mizzou," Walters said. "Anthony has been grateful and appreciative of them and of the fact that he is able to do what he is doing now."
Making an Impact
On June 11, 2013, the impact of a car accident nearly took everything from Sherrils. But after defying the odds and working his way back to the field, Sherrils is making an impact on one of the nation's most elite defenses.
It all came full circle on Sept. 19, 2015, in a game against UConn at Memorial Stadium. After entering the season as the starter at strong safety after an impressive training camp, Sherrils made a career-defining play 830 days after his accident.
With Mizzou clinging to a 9-6 lead over UConn with less than a minute remaining, the Huskies had driven the ball to the Mizzou 25-yard line. Mizzou brought out its base defense to defend what appeared to be a potential game-tying 42 yard field goal. But it was a fake.
Sherrils jumped the route and intercepted Tim Boyle's pass and returned it 50 yards to seal the win for Mizzou.
"He threw the ball and I made I play on it," Sherrils said. "The tight end released and I saw the ball in the air and I was like, 'I've got to attack it.' It was a great feeling."
The great feeling was for Sherrils was knowing how far he had come. After nearly losing his ability to play the game he loved, he was back on the field making plays to help Mizzou win. Not bad for a kid who two years earlier was struggling to even walk.
"When they said I had a traumatic brain injury, I was like, 'Wow.' When I got into that wreck, I didn't think it would happen to me ever," Sherrils said.
While Sherrils didn't think something like that could ever happen to him, there were plenty who thought playing football would never happen again for Sherrils. Like he has done all his life, he proved them wrong.
Be sure to watch the complete story Sherrils above, courtesy of Mizzou Network.
