After sustaining a leg injury two seasons ago that nearly required amputation, Grant Newsome has made the decision to medically retire. The would-be senior offensive lineman underwent several surgeries and extensive rehab in hopes of coming back. While traveling with the football program in Paris earlier this summer he expressed continued optimism despite the clearly sizable odds.

"I'm doing good and feeling good," Newsome said while abroad. "I think the common theme throughout all of this is that I'm feeling good. I feel like I'm ready to play, but just waiting on the doctors still. Just waiting for one nagging thing to come along, one piece of it. That is coming, it's just something you can't control or can't speed up. We're waiting on that thing so once it gets back to where they feel comfortable then they can take the reins off."

But those reins would never come off. During an appearance on Jim Harbaugh’s weekly Attack Each Day Podcast earlier today Newsome announced his playing days are officially over. He later elaborated on the decision in a statement released via twitter.

“A little under 23 months ago I walked off the field in Michigan Stadium, not knowing that my life had been forever changed,” Newsome wrote. “I was in the midst of my sophomore season, starting at left tackle for the number four team in the nation. I envisioned a national championship, I saw myself on stage in NYC, walking across the stage to shake the commissioner’s hand and hold up that jersey with the number one on it.

“But not all stories have a happy ending.”

“God has graced me with a platform, with a testimony, and with the chance to hopefully make a difference in the lives of many. I don’t know what the future ultimately holds for me, but I know that I will spend it working to help others, to repay the kindness of everyone who has touched my life over these last two years; to try and make the world a better place for my own generation and those who follow it. In the short term, Coach Harbaugh has graciously allowed me to stay with the team as a student coach, where I’ll be working with the tight ends, while I complete my Master’s degree.”

"So I have made undoubtedly the difficult decision of my life, and will medically retire from football.”

Newsome hasn’t shied away from using his aforementioned platform in the past, having spoken out on the national anthem protests, the presidential election, compensation for student athletes, and a variety of other topics and issues that many others in the public sphere are reluctant to address. It’s the same kind of heart and courage he displayed while battling back from a life-altering injury. The same kind of heart and courage that will continue to serve as an inspiration to others.

“So to any kids reading this, or anyone who has hopes and dreams but fear they may be dashed,” Newsome wrote. “Yes, not all stories have the happy ending you envision. But all stories have meaning, and all stories are worth living.”