Ryland perseveres despite deformity
In the locker room before every game, one of Penn State's coaches asks linebacker Andy Ryland how he's feeling. Ryland, whose malformed right foot can make walking up a few steps seem like climbing Mt. Everest, just smiles.
"I always joke around, telling them I never feel it on gamedays," Ryland said.
"The hardest part is warming up and the first couple of plays or series. After that, my adrenaline kicks in and I tend not to feel it ... although sometimes, by the third or fourth quarter, I'm in a decent amount of pain. It's just something I have to deal with."
Ryland was born with structural defects in his right foot, a jumble of bones that are poorly aligned and in some spots overlap. His big toe is smaller than the rest and does not touch the ground, which alters his walking and running mechanics.
"If you look at a picture of a normal foot in a textbook and see the way the bones align, my foot pretty much looks nothing like that," Ryland said.
He had surgery twice when he was very young, but at this point there is little else doctors can do to correct his problem. Ryland has worn orthodics since he was a junior at State College Area High School.
"I've been through a million pairs, a million different models, trying to find one that will give me the proper motion control and also the cushioning I need," he said.
During the week, as he goes around campus to class and football practice, Ryland rotates two different orthodics. The team trainers have helped out by custom-fitting his game cleats.
Before and after every workout, Ryland soaks his feet in an ice bath. He also receives high-frequency electrical stimulation therapy to relieve the soreness.
"Once football is done and I'm not putting in the miles with conditioning and everything, it will naturally get a bit better on its own," he said.
The best medicine, Ryland said, is common sense.
"I try to be smart about it," he said. "If I don't need to be running around after practice, I try to stay off my feet. After the game, it's home and on the couch, off your feet the rest of the day."
Although Ryland was born with the condition, it never kept him from playing sports. He was a three-year football letterman in high schoo, and also competed in basketball and track and field. His father is the coach of Penn State's rugby club.
Football, though, was always the sport Ryland loved best.
"There's always been something inside me that I can't put a finger on that's led me to this game," he said. "I feel this is kind of like my calling."
"I've never looked at (the foot) as an obstacle, really. It's like, 'I'm going to play football and, oh yeah, I have this problem.' "
This is Ryland's senior year at Penn State, and Saturday's game against Indiana will be his last in Beaver Stadium. Starting middle linebacker Gino Capone, the team's leading tackler, sprained his knee last week, so Ryland -- a former walk-on -- will get a rare chance to run with the first string tomorrow.
"Gino was a leader," coach Joe Paterno said. "He could make a lot of defensive adjustments against different (offensive) formations. That's a big loss for us, but Andy Ryland will do fine."
Ryland filled in for Capone last season, after Capone went down with a shoulder injury before the Virginia game. In his career, Ryland has played all three linebacker positions for the Nittany Lions.
"Having that experience last year gives me a big boost of confidence," Ryland said. "My entire time here, the only thing I ever wanted to do is contribute. The situation just happened to present itself that it's going to be me out there. But if it wasn't like that, it wouldn't take anything away from Senior Day."
"I'm going to follow this road and see where it takes me. It's been a heck of journey so far. Sixty years from now, I'll be telling my grandkids stories about Joe Paterno, win (No.) 324, the guys I played with who went to the NFL.
"Some of the things I've seen, it's the most amazing experience I ever could've hoped for."
