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Landon Leach was born with a golden arm. During his career with the Russellville Cyclones, he threw for 9,073 yards, i.e., 90 trips up and down a football field, a little over five miles, racking up a laundry list of accolades along the way.
Despite going the distance in high school, Landon never made it to the NFL. He never even played in a game for a college team. Instead, his career was derailed soon after he received a full scholarship to play football for the University of Arkansas.
During the summer of 2003, Landon reported early to Fayetteville, hoping to get a head start on his first college season. Right off, he knew things were going to be different.
“I’ll never forget the first ball I threw,” said Leach, the now 33-year-old marketing director for Touchstone Medical Imaging. “The receiver was open when the ball left my hand. By the time it got there, the defender was already waiting on it. The game got so much faster.”
It didn’t take Landon long to learn the importance of a strong arm, especially at the college level. He was working on improving that strength when tragedy struck.
“We’re in the weight room,” said Leach. “I’m doing a snatch clean. I throw the bar up over my head, and feel a pop.”
At first, Landon ignored the pain. He didn’t tell his coaches and went back out for practice the next day. “I was trying to throw,” said Leach, “but my balls just didn’t have any zip.”
Houston Nutt, then head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, sent Landon down to Birmingham, Alabama, to see a world-renowned shoulder specialist. When Landon’s MRI came back, the news was not good.
“Torn labrum,” said Leach. “Let me tell you, the rehab was no fun. It made for some long days.”
It wasn’t until the next fall, over a year later, when Landon was able to suit up again for the Razorbacks’ Red-White game, their annual preseason scrimmage.
“It was supposed to be a run play,” Leach said, recalling the last snap he ever took as a Razorback. “But they were blitzing, so I audibled to a play action pass.”
Problem was, the backside tackle—Landon’s blindside—didn’t get the call, and the blitzing linebacker came through untouched, yanking Landon’s arm just as he went to throw the ball.
“You could see my shoulder come out on film,” said Leach. “It popped out then popped back in.”
What followed were two more shoulder surgeries, countless hours spent in rehab, and too much time for the college sophomore to sit alone with his pain. Despite the surgeries, Landon’s arm would never recover. The golden arm that had taken him so far had thrown its last pass.
You start thinking who am I now? What am I going to do next? I’d been a part of a team since I was five years old. Basically, I felt like I was on my own.
To make matters worse, Leach recalls the deal he was offered in another sport, a game that also required a healthy shoulder.
“I was offered a lot of money to play professional baseball out of high school. I think if I’d gone that direction, I’d still be playing,” Leach said. “But honestly, I don’t have any regrets.”
Landon Leach was as good a high school quarterback as Arkansas has ever produced. The statistics, the accolades, they speak for themselves. Many fans have been left to question what could have been.
“To this day, one of the first things that pops up if you Google my name,” said Leach, “is an article on the top five quarterbacks who never panned out at Arkansas.”
The injury’s ramifications on Landon’s personal life were far-reaching. Leach said:
I battled a bunch of demons for a really long time. There for a while, I had trouble even watching sports. I didn’t want to see people’s career end over injuries.
Obviously, Landon’s pain went deeper than just his shoulder; there was an almost divine aspect to his path to recovery. His belief in the game had been fractured, but from that break, he found an even deeper faith.
Eventually, I realized I couldn’t do it on my own. I got right with the Lord, got right spiritually. God is never going to give us more than we can take.
Then came another turn in Landon’s life, a big one.
“Becoming a dad shifted the mindset away from me. I found a new identity as a father,” Leach said. “Now it’s just about being the best husband and dad I can be, raising my girls the right way, raising them in church.”
One can’t help but wonder how far Landon would have gone had his shoulder stayed healthy. Would we be watching him on Sundays? Would he have found his way back into baseball, the Major Leagues?
Maybe. Maybe not.
One thing is for certain, Landon wouldn’t be the man—the father—he is today without enduring his injuries. He wouldn’t be as strong, as tough, or nearly as wise.
“Now I’m able to see that life is about so much more than sports,” concluded Leach. “It’s about the things you overcome. That’s how you learn who you truly are.”
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