Catching up with Jesse Reising; Shane Bannon honored

With Yale's graduation fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with Jesse Reising, the linebacker who was nearly paralyzed during the Nov. 20 game against Harvard. As it turned out, we sat down on Friday which was six months to the date of his violent collision with Harvard running back Gino Gordon.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

As I wrote in my last story about Jesse back in February, he was in line to be commissioned as an officer in the Marines but the injuries he suffered prevented him from realizing his dream.

Reising, while obviously disappointed at being disenrolled from the Marines office training candidate school, was not about to wallow in self pity. As the story which is running in Sunday's edition of the Register documents, his future is looking pretty bright. He is heading over to Afghanistan to work as a contractor and is starting a non-profit organization to help care for the families of fallen service members.

MAJOR HONOR FOR BANNON
Shane Bannon, who became the first Yale player taken in the NFL draft in seven years when he was selected in the seventh round by the Kansas City Chiefs in last month's draft, received a prestigious honor on Saturday night.

Bannon was co-winner of Yale's Meyer Humanitarian Award.

The award is given each year to a varsity athlete in the senior class "whose character exemplifies selfless devotion along with compassion and concern for their team and the community at Yale and beyond."

Bannon was recognized for his off the field work including spending the last three years being very involved in the annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale. He has also been a mentor for elementary school children at Shepherd Glen School in Hamden since 2009 and has volunteered with Special Olympics. He has participated in Youth Days and the athletics department’s annual holiday gift giving drive for underprivileged children all four years he has been at Yale.

LOOK FOR RECRUIT LIST NEXT WEEK
Last I heard, Yale was still dotting the i's and crossing the t's on its incoming freshman class. I'd look for the list to be officially released at some point in the next week. Don't look for any surprises as it is expected to consist of the 29 high school seniors as well as Duke transfer Tevin Hood.

Catching up with Jesse Reising

There will be a story on Yale linebacker Jesse Reising in Sunday's edition of the Register. The last time most Yale fans likely saw Reising, he was laying on the ground at Harvard Stadium after a violent collision with Harvard running back Gino Gordon in the fourth quarter of the Nov. 20 game.

Reising's right arm was still in a sling when I sat down with him earlier this month. He spends about four hours in physical therapy daily and is planning to head to the Mayo Clinic next week for a comprehensive evaluation to see if surgery is needed.

A sad aspect of Reising's story is that his dream of becoming an officer in the Mariners is currently on hold as the injuries he suffered led to him being disenrolled from officer training. Despite the circumstances, he is keeping a very positive approach to his uncertain future.

Update on Jesse Reising

Outside of recruiting updates, normally there's not a heck of a lot to report from the time the Yale football season ends until spring drills start up.

However, the one story I've been wanting to do since the Harvard game is an update on linebacker Jesse Reising who was taken from the Harvard Stadium field on a stretcher after a head to head collision with Harvard's Gino Gordon.

I finally got around to sitting down with Jesse and will be putting together a story on him that I expect to run in the next week or two.

The big news is that the injuries Reising suffered against Harvard will keep him from taking advantage of a fifth season of eligibility. The nerve damage also led to him being dropped from the Marine Corps Officer Training Candidate program which has been Reising's life's ambition. Reising is not physically able to perform some of the fitness requirements necessary to stay in the program. Reising is still hopeful that if he gets all his strength back that he could be entered back into the program.

He will be heading to the Mayo Clinic next month for a comprehensive evaluation and see if surgery will be required.

Jesse spoke at length about the support he has received since the violent collision with Gordon.

"I didn't have my phone on me until they took me from the ER to the in-patient unit," Reising said. "That was when I got my cell phone and saw I had over 100 text messages and over 100 facebook messages. I didn't even try to count the e-mails. That was when it set in that 'wow, I have a lot of people who really care about me.'

"It really demonstrated how close knit of a family our football team is, not only our football team but our entire Yale community. On top of that, the overwhelming support I received from Harvard fans and players and even people from all across the country who don't even know me offering their prayers and support. Jordan Haynes, he said some nice words about me, and Tom (McCarthy) those were the public ones. There have also been a lot of private exchanges. I really owe a lot to those guys. They meant a lot to me not only in my four years at Yale but in my life in general. Those are going to be some of the closest friends I'll have and (the friendships) will really last a lifetime.

"My life has been flipped around 180 degrees and every single way I could have imagined getting support, I've gotten it. When push comes to shove, we've got each others' backs."