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Chronic pain forces Buchholz into football retirement

Penn State redshirt junior defensive end Ryan Buchholz announced his retirement from football Wednesday morning via Twitter, a result of years of back pain and surgeries, he said.

"For the past 13 years, football has been all I’ve known and done. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities, memories, and friends this sport has given me. Stemming from problems developed in high school, I’ve been through years of dealing with extreme pain. After multiple back surgeries and the inability to perform 100% at this level, it is time for me to retire. You only have one body and my health and future well-being is most important to me. Unfortunately, some things don’t last forever and I am just very thankful for everyone who has helped and supported me throughout my career. Lastly, I would like to thank coach Franklin and the rest of the staff for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to play at an amazing university like Penn State."

The 21-year old defensive end, originally from Malvern, Pa., has been an integral part of the Nittany Lion defense each of the past two seasons. After taking a redshirt his first year in the program, Buchholz appeared in 13 games during the 2016 season, making 16 tackles and three sacks.

He followed the effort in 2017 with 18 tackles and a pair of sacks in just 10 games, forced to the sidelines due to a leg injury suffered early in the Nittany Lions' loss at Ohio State in late-October. Though he'd return to start for Penn State's Fiesta Bowl win against Washington, he'd play sparingly, making one stop.

In the offseason, Buchholz dropped weight from his normal 275-280 pounds down to 255. Without elaborating on his motivation for the weight loss, it was something Buchholz said he'd wanted to give a try to see if it had any impact on his body.

“I figured I would do it, get my body right, get it better and see what I could do with that weight,” he said. “We get our body fat tested and our body weight tested a lot, and [the coaches] know I’ve been losing all this weight and they’re perfectly fine with it. They tell me every day how much better my body looks. So I think it’s a good thing.

“It’s not that I was unhealthy before. I just think it would be cool to be at this weight and be able to play at the same level, just to have 30 pounds less on my body.”

Though he'd dress for practice and even conducted interviews through the spring, Buchholz was not seen in action at all during the spring session and would not participate in the Blue-White Game. For his Penn State career, he'd start six games.


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