Ryan Shazier Finishes His College Degree At Ohio State, Has Bigger Plans

Ryan Shazier, whose NFL career came to an end after a spinal cord injury sustained during a 2017 game, has officially graduated from Ohio State. Shazier played at Ohio State from 2011-13 before leaving school early to enter the NFL Draft where he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 15 pick in 2014.

"Proud grad of Ohio state now," Shazier, a psychology major with a business management minor announced Friday.

"I always wanted to go back to school, even before I got hurt," Shazier told Steelers.com in 2019. "It has always been important to me. I feel like I never accomplished something I always told myself I would. I want my kids to have better opportunities than me. I know it's going to be a stepping stone for them and myself, to show them I have my degree.

"This is something I really wanted to finish because I know how important it is. My mom and dad have their degrees. Michelle (my wife) has her degree. I want to start a foundation for our family that this is the standard. I want R.J. (my son) to know this is the standard and we are trying to build our family."

It wasn't an easy journey for Shazier to go back and finish up. It required the former Steelers linebacker to re-learn material he hadn't looked at in six years.

"I eventually want to get my master's in business," Shazier said in his Steelers.com interview. "But I have to take care of this first. That is one of my goals, to get that done after I am done with this."

Former Buckeyes football players Jeff Okudah & Alex Boone also received their degrees during this week's ceremony.