Former Michigan quarterback Steven Threet quits football because of concussions
Steven Threet's well-traveled football career, which included one season as the starting quarterback at Michigan, is over.
Threet told the Arizona Republic that he has left the Arizona State program because of health concerns associated with the four concussions he suffered over the past five years.
He is still experiencing headaches and has had trouble sleeping since his last concussion, which occurred against UCLA on Nov. 26.
"It's extremely hard," Threet told the Arizona Republic. "Obviously, this is a game I love. I love the guys that I've played with. Throughout my career I've had to make a lot of tough decisions, but this has been the toughest I've made so far."
Former Michigan quarterback Steven Threet has quit football after suffering four concussions in five years.
File photo
The season-ending concussion against UCLA was the second of Threet's junior season at Arizona State. The first came on Oct. 23 at California. Previously, Threet suffered concussions his senior year at Adrian High School and in 2008 while playing at Michigan.
"Doctors have told him a fifth concussion could be debilitating," a source told ESPN.com. "You don't want to be 35 years old and can't hold up a cup of coffee."
Threet was recruited by Georgia Tech in 2007 as one of the top 10 quarterback prospects in the nation, but after the coaching staff that recruited him was ushered out, Threet transferred to Michigan.
Per NCAA transfer rules, he sat out the 2007 season.
At the end of the season, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr retired, and Threet -- at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds -- wasn’t an ideal fit for new coach Rich Rodriguez’s spread option offense. He stayed at Michigan anyway, and after Ryan Mallett transferred, wound up starting eight games during the 2008 season
He completed 102 of 200 passes for 1,105 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Wolverines, who finished 3-9.
By the next year, he had to weigh his long-term interests: stick it out at Michigan or find a pro-style offense elsewhere?
After that season, Rodriguez recruited Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson to run his offense and Threet decided it was time to move on again. He chose Arizona State over Oregon State.
“It was definitely difficult, having played, and knowing I was going to sit out another season,” Threet told AnnArbor.com in September. “When I had the chance to come down here on my visit and to see what was going on, it was just definitely something I wanted to be a part of.”
Threet completed 61.9 percent of his passes last season, throwing for 2,534 yards with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions for the 6-6 Sun Devils.
He told the Arizona Republic that he's on schedule to graduate in May and still plans to work with the Sun Devils this season.
Comments
aareader
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:09 a.m.
Sorry to read this but I believe he has made the very correct decision. The quality of his life, when older, should be everything he desires because of his decision.
Mick
Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 11:58 p.m.
I'm sad for you Steven, I hope you live a comfortable and happy and prosperous life young man. I wish you hadn't gotten a raw deal in AA with the coach we had at the time and that silly offense we ran. I think you could have been a pretty good QB for us in a Pro Set Offense. Good luck to you and that was a good decision. Your health and well being are more important.
Edward Vielmetti
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 4:43 a.m.
Pro set is a formation and an offense; see e.g. the title on <a href="http://www.coachesservices.com/proset.htm" rel='nofollow'>http://www.coachesservices.com/proset.htm</a> The phrase "pro set formation" is more common than "pro set offense", but both are in common use. (And hardly anyone remembers the single wing.)
Dusty
Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:20 a.m.
"pro set" is a formation, not an offense.
umgoblue47
Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 11:12 p.m.
you made the right decision. . . i enjoyed watching you play high school football and playing for michigan, you always gave 110%. best of luck in what ever you do. . . GO BLUE. . .
Jan
Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 10:47 p.m.
Tough break for Steven Threet. Definitely the right thing to do, given his situation. He can have a very productive and happy life away from football. It has been a slow process to educate people on the dangers of repeated concussions but this represents progress. I can't help but think of the very sad suicide of Dave Duerson this week. There is a generation of players like Duerson whose stories we will be reading about in the days and years to come. I'm hopeful that better education and technology will put an end to the stories of lives shortened by football.
Terry Star21
Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 10:19 p.m.
Steven Threat is a first class student/athlete and Michigan was honored to have him. Most people won't realize how hard it is for an athlete to walk away from our sport - and all though a difficult decision, the right one. No sport is worth putting your health and life at risk. Good luck to Steven in everything he does, and thank you friend for being a huge help to the Michigan Football team. A Michigan Football playey is cherished for life !
81wolverine
Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 9:49 p.m.
I'd say the right decision for sure. I think he took a little bit of a pounding while at MIchigan, partially because he was playing the spread and not suited for it. I give him a lot of credit for at least trying while he was here, and understood why he transferred. But, athletes on defense are getting bigger, stronger, and faster. So, QB's are particularly vulnerable to getting hit hard. Hopefully, equipment manufacturers will come up with more protective equipment, but I don't think there are any easy answers to the problem. Good luck to Mr. Threet.
1st Down
Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 7:13 p.m.
Tough break for Steve Threet, and probably a very tough decision for him to make. However with the recently found probable link between multiple concussions and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), it is probably the right decision for him to make. He seems like a great person and we all wish him the best. Go Blue.