As Ohio State gets pumped up for the BCS title game, one former Buckeye player is not letting his paralysis keep his spirits down:

The NEWTON KANSAN has the story of Tyson Gentry, a walk-on wide receiver who was injured during a 2006 football practice. While being tackled, Gentry slammed his head on the ground so hard that it broke his neck and a C-4 vertebrae.

Because of the accident, Gentry can’t move anything below his shoulders, but he does have limited mobility in his arms. Despite his injury, Tyson tries to keep positive:

“When I’m at rehab…you see people with injuries far worse than yours, and that puts it in perspective.”

“It puts a lot of things in perspective. Before I was injured, I looked back and thought certain things would give me a bad day, or my day is going poorly. Now, I don’t focus on the little things. I focus on the things I have control over, on the positive things. I’ve grown from this and can only get stronger from this.”

And his optimism is starting to pay off. Recently, Gentry has regained some sensation in his body. Although it’s not full sensation, Tyson says he can now feel touch.

“I’m very thankful for that. It tells me that things are still connected, and it’s still there. It’s just a matter of not getting through completely. It gives me hope for the future.”