A sad story out of training camp this weekend. Freshman LB Jermaine Pierce, who some considered the top recruit in the incoming class, will stop playing football immediately due to a "life-threatening" blood-clotting issue" according to Donnie Webb. As usually is the case with these stories, Pierce was really make a name for himself in camp this summer. Word was that he was setting himself up for on-the-field action this season. Then the chest pains started. Pierce practiced with the team on Monday but was absent from Tuesday's workout. Pierce never practiced again and decided to tell the team during a meeting Thursday that he would no longer be playing football.
Thankfully for Pierce, Syracuse will be honoring its scholarship so he will still be able to attend the university and get his degree. I'd have to imagine Pierce will also remain a fixture with the team and a source of inspiration for those who can play. Let's hope that Pierce takes this opportunity seriously to continue doing good with his life instead of using it as a crutch to lean on while he falls back into old pastimes.
As for the Orange, its another setback in a preseason that saw the team's leading returning receiver quit. Coupled with the running back issues its not enough to say the Orange are cursed but for a team that certainly didn't need any bigger mountains to climb, its not getting any easier.