University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: Transcendence
September 22, 2016 | Football
By Turner Walston
There is life beyond sports, life beyond football, indeed even for a student-athlete at the top of his game. There are friendships that transcend uniforms, relationships forged through common experiences, even among competitors.
Ryan Switzer met James Conner when the two were in high school: Switzer a standout wingback from Charleston, West Virginia; Conner a celebrated tailback and defensive lineman from Erie, Pennsylvania. The two first met at a prospect camp in Pittsburgh. They re-connected three years ago, on opposite sidelines when the Tar Heels visited Pitt in 2013.
"We didn't really put two and two together until our freshman year, up at Pitt playing there," Switzer said this week. "I recognized his name throughout the game, and then after the game, we caught up. We exchanged contact information and just have been friends ever since."
Despite wearing different jerseys, Switzer and Conner have more in common than not. They were high school stars with many college offers. They were standout freshmen football players and have been named to All-ACC teams. They know the unique demands on a student-athletes time, in the classroom, on the field and beyond. So they developed a friendship, trading text messages to check up on one another. "It just means staying in touch, seeing how the other one's doing," Switzer said.
And after Conner went down with a knee injury last season, Switzer visited with him before the Tar Heels played at Pittsburgh last October. "He was on the sidelines before the game, just talking to him about his future and his plans and everything, and then obviously everything changed when he found out about the cancer," Switzer said.
Cancer does change everything. Conner announced his diagnosis with Hodgkin's lymphoma in December. Switzer wrote #ConnerStrong on his shoes for Carolina's appearance in the ACC Championship Game. "I thought, 'What better way to show my support in that moment than letting him know that no matter how big the atmosphere, he was in my thoughts and my prayers?'" he said.
Conner then underwent chemotherapy and participated in winter workouts, inspiring many, including Switzer. "I remember seeing him working out, whether he was going to chemo, then going straight to workouts with the mask on his face," the friend said. "It really put things into perspective for me and my life, and some of the things that I was taking for granted certainly stopped. It's kind of like a walk-up call for me, that as quick as you feel like you're on top of the world, you can be off the mountaintop. He's done a great job fighting back, and it looks like he hasn't missed a beat."
After missing 2015 with the knee injury, then fighting cancer, Conner has worked hard to not only get back to the field, but to get back to being James Conner. He was declared cancer-free in May, and he's certainly looked like his old self, rushing for 281 yards and three scores through three games, twice eclipsing the century mark. "He looks great," Switzer said. "His conditioning looks perfect. He looks like a running back and he runs the same. He's running looking for contact so our defense knows they're going to have to bring their pads on Saturday."
For his part, on Saturday Switzer will bring his elusiveness at wide receiver and his big-play potential at punt returner (he returned two punts against the Panthers for touchdowns three seasons ago). He'll also bring some accessories the 'Conner Strong' bracelet he wears on his right wrist, with 'Fear is a Choice' written on the other side, and purple tape in honor of his friend. And while Conner will bring his dangerous running ability, he'll also be confident knowing he has a friend on the opposite sideline. “[Switzer is] a phenomenal person,” Conner told The Pitt News. “He's [become] like a brother to me.”
In this day and age, we are too often cynical. Too often we attempt to mask our own insecurities by minimizing the sincerity of others, the earnestness with which others may approach the world. And so it's refreshing to see two young men connect through football, through adversity. It's refreshing to see the hands of friendship transcend rivalries and uniforms, reach across sidelines and across one young man's cancer fight. Beyond touchdowns, rushing yards and punt returns, beyond even winning, that is something to be celebrated.
