‘The heart of a lion’: How BC’s Richard Yeargin persevered after a devastating car accident
“Pain is temporary weakness that turns into long-term strength."
Richard Yeargin is typically in control.
As a person, he’s regimented and disciplined. As a player, he’s centered and cerebral.
But no amount of preparation, poise, or deliberateness could have prepared him for the avalanche that came his way June 3, 2017.
Late in the afternoon, around 4 or 5 o’clock, unrelenting rain fell as Yeargin, entering his fourth year at Clemson, drove home after taking a class in Greenville. He called his older brother and best friend, Richard Jr., to tell him he would be careful in the slick conditions. The rain never stopped, so he decided to drive.
Suddenly, his Honda Civic hydroplaned and torpedoed off the road, and he had never felt so helpless. The car flipped over two or three times, and Yeargin had to shimmy his way to safety with his neck throbbing. He later learned he had fractured his C5 and C7 vertebrae, and doctors told him he was lucky to avoid paralysis.
“At 20 years old, you feel invincible,” Richard Jr. said. “You feel like, ‘Yeah, I’m untouchable.’”
Yeargin’s immediate concern was whether he’d be able to walk and live a normal life. The next question was whether he could eventually play football for Clemson again.
Now, after graduating with two degrees from Clemson, Yeargin has found a new home at Boston College for his sixth and final year of eligibility. The BC defensive lineman is set to face his former team in Death Valley on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. He feels lucky to still be doing what he loves, and he’s trying to make the most of a situation that has gradually but surely morphed from bleak to inspiring.
🎥 Head coach Steve Addazio and the Eagles continue preparations for their Saturday night contest at No. 2 Clemson.#WeAreBC🦅 pic.twitter.com/DCsZjXfZmT
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) October 22, 2019
“You’ve got something special here. Don’t ruin it.”
Growing up in South Florida, Yeargin had an older soul than the average kid his age. He was in a constant quest for the admiration of Richard Jr., who is 12 years older, and Richard Jr.’s friends.
“If you want to hang with the big boys, you’ve got to act mature,” Richard Jr. said. “He recognized that at an early age.”
As Richard Jr. earned a spot on the South Carolina State football team, Yeargin started to envision a similar path for himself. When Yeargin entered high school, Richard Jr. moved from Illinois back to Florida to help his brother sharpen his craft.
Richard Jr. recalls how Yeargin transitioned from a 5’11 quarterback to a 6’1 safety to a 6’2 outside linebacker to a 6’3 defensive end. He gained about 45 pounds in high school, and eventually he blossomed into Scout’s No. 17 linebacker in the nation.
“You’ve got something special here,” Richard Jr. reminded him. “Don’t ruin it.”
Clemson started recruiting him in 10th grade, and Yeargin’s ESPN page says he received offers from 32 schools, including Boston College. As he transitioned to Clemson, he had veterans like Vic Beasley and Shaq Lawson to look up to during his redshirt freshman season.
“You play to your strengths just like you eat to your strength. You don’t go to a great Italian restaurant and have a taco.”
@BCCoachAddazio is staying true to @BCFootball this weekend in Death Valley 💪 pic.twitter.com/ciGvjd2rS6
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 22, 2019
Yeargin was steady in a reserve role his first two years on the field, and he was hoping to carve out more of a niche for himself the next two, but his entire outlook changed when the accident happened.
He opted not to get surgery, and he followed orders to avoid contact for a year. Yeargin couldn’t drive, so he focused on school and anything that would serve as a distraction from the unsettling reality of his humdrum life. He knew pitying himself wouldn’t help, so instead he leaned on his family, friends, and teammates as he got used to a neck brace and worked toward recovery.
“Pain is temporary weakness that turns into long-term strength,” Yeargin said. “I knew it wouldn’t last forever and that time would heal all wounds.”
Of course, telling himself that was easy, but truly believing it was a monster of a battle. Richard Jr., who checked up on him as he recovered, wasn’t surprised his brother eventually bought in and bet on himself.
“He has the heart of a lion,” Richard Jr. said. “He’s resilient.”
Finally, after the most trying year of his life, Yeargin returned for the 2018 season at Clemson. The return was short-lived, though, as he made contact on the field and his whole left side went numb. A little piece of bone cut off circulation in his shoulder and he was in considerable pain. In September 2018, he officially retired from football, and in October, Yeargin decided spinal surgery was necessary for his long-term health.
Yeargin wanted to stay sharp mentally, so he immersed himself in the game and helped out as an unofficial coach. He could only watch as Clemson captured its second national championship in three years – genuinely thrilled for his teammates yet also crushed he couldn’t be out there with them as they capped an undefeated season.
He graduated with a degree in sports communications in December 2017 and added a master’s in sports leadership in May 2019 from Clemson. As the Tigers maintained their stranglehold as a top program in the country, and continued to attract top recruits, he was finally healed but knew his playing time would be limited. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has reportedly stayed in touch with Yeargin and expressed how proud he is.
“It’s a real inspiration,” Swinney told reporters. “I know what all he went through for two years. I was pretty surprised when he called me back in May to tell me he was thinking about trying to play again. We talked through it.”
Yeargin believed he still had more to give on the field, so he entered the transfer portal. Suddenly, an aggressive suitor emerged.
“Low and behold,” Richard Jr. said, “here comes Boston College 100 miles an hour.”
Boston College defensive lineman Richard Yeargin earned his first career start Saturday against NC State.
“I just couldn’t say no.”
Boston College head coach Steve Addazio had admired Yeargin from afar for quite some time, so when it became clear that landing him was a possibility, Addazio and his staff were quick to reach out.
BC checked every box for the Yeargins. It was an Atlantic Coast Conference school in what they consider the medical capital of the world, and it was clear the staff prioritized Yeargin’s health.
Once Yeargin passed all the physical tests, and it was obvious the admiration was mutual, Yeargin decided this past May that Boston was where he wanted to be.
“I just couldn’t say no,” said Yeargin.
Yeargin gushed after Week 1 about how returning to football is a dream come true, and he recently said he’s starting to feel like his old self, if not better. Naturally it took some time to adjust to playing every day again, in a new role, at a new school, but he’s continuing to make strides.
“He went through some really tough stuff for a couple of years, and little by little, he’s chipped away at that, and he’s really, you see each week he gets a little better,” Addazio told reporters.
It was easy to tell how much it meant to BC graduate student Richard Yeargin to be back on the field Saturday after missing the 2017 and 2018 seasons at Clemson following an automobile accident.
“It was like a dream come true … I was pretty ecstatic.” pic.twitter.com/s3yaLivtCI
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) September 4, 2019
The graduate student Yeargin has played in every game and has registered eight tackles and a half-sack. He made his first career start in the Eagles’ 45-24 Week 7 win over NC State, and he could play a key role once again as BC tries to stun Clemson.
He said he didn’t put much thought into the Clemson game earlier in the season, but now that it’s here, he’s looking forward to competing against his former teammates and coaches.
“May the best man win,” Yeargin said.
“We’re going down to play the defending national champions, play an elite football team. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re the No. 1 team in the country. The challenges will be high, but we’re looking forward to it.” – Addazio on facing Clemson
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) October 21, 2019
“I’m doing this for him.”
Yeargin is plenty intrinsically motivated, but there’s also another factor that keeps him going — and this one carries much more weight than football.
As he’s transitioned to a new home in a different part of the country, he’s had to cope with the unsettling reality that he can’t see his 8-month old son, Elijah, and his fiancée, Kayla, nearly as often as he’d like.
They still come to his games periodically, but between the cold winters and the cost of plane tickets, flying to Boston isn’t quite as easy as going to Clemson. Yeargin said he misses holding Elijah in his arms daily, and providing for him and Kayla is his long-term priority.
“It’s a feeling that you can’t really put into words,” Yeargin said. “As I’m out here on the practice field, or wherever I’m at, I find myself daydreaming about him and how he’s doing. Then I snap back into it. OK, I’m here right now. All this is temporary, so let me make the most out of this temporary situation so that when I’m with him permanently, I can focus all my attention on him.”
Yeargin found out Kayla was pregnant just a few days after the one-year anniversary of his accident. The flashbacks are inevitable, but they’re a bit less painful knowing he’s made it through the worst and now he has even more motivation.
He made it clear that he wants to continue to inspire people, to remind them that there’s no obstacle that’s truly insurmountable. Most of all, he hopes to pave the way for Elijah.
“I’m not doing this for myself,” Yeargin said. “I’m doing this for him.”
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