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SALT LAKE CITY — Sometimes things just don't go your way.
Like that new business venture that you keep convincing yourself isn't just any other multi-level marketing ploy, or the time that your car gets hit by an errant driver going 40 mph in a parking lot, life has a way of throwing challenges and adversity at us on a daily basis.
Unfortunately for Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn, that adversity has become too great, and after a fourth shoulder injury in the last three years, Wynn is stepping away from the game of football.
"Jordan Wynn is injured to the point that we had a conversation with him, and he's going to hang up the football. He's going to move on with life after football," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday.
His injury-plagued career at Utah will quickly be forgotten as the Saturdays pass by, and the naysayers and doubters all have texted, called and emailed me saying, "I told you so."
With that said, it is hard not to admire someone that has given their all - and both arms - to a worthwhile cause.
Although Wynn never finished an entire season while at Utah, he will finish as the school's eighth leading passer with 4,637 yards and sixth in touchdown passes with 33.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment came during his freshman season, leading Utah to a 37-27 win over Cal in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl. Wynn threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns, earning a compliment from teammate and current Baltimore Raven David Reed, "Jordan Wynn played a great game and it can't get any better than the way it finished."
After injuring his shoulder diving after a fumble during the Red White spring game in 2010, Wynn was never quite the same as he was during his Poinsettia Bowl MVP performance. He fought through it and was 8-2 as a starter, but yet another shoulder injury late in the season sidelined him.
Would 2011 be any different? His throwing motion looked downright goofy, yet he lead Utah to a 54-10 win over rival BYU and near upset of USC. However, just four games in, Wynn took a hard hit against Washington and was forced to watch the rest of the season from the bench.
Three shoulder injuries; three shoulder surgeries.
Surely it couldn't, or wouldn't happen to a guy who had already been through so much. But life had other plans.
He fought the good fight and came back, but this is the fourth time he has injured his shoulder and he is going to move on.
–Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
Last Friday in Logan, Wynn took yet another hit, and, you guessed it, will likely have to have yet another shoulder surgery. But unlike the past few times, Wynn won't be suiting up and taking snaps for the Utes in the future.
"He fought the good fight and came back, but this is the fourth time he has injured his shoulder and he is going to move on," Whittingham said.
"We really appreciate what Jordan has brought to our program and the toughness and resiliency he has shown. If he was my son, I'd probably encourage him to do the same thing."
Best of luck Jordan, we wish you the best.
