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Junior IU quarterback stepping away from football to take care of his health

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – Junior Indiana University Quarterback Zander Diamont says he’s walking away from football to take care of his health. WISH -TV talked to the head of Indiana High School Sports Association about news coming from the Indiana University football team and the message it sends to High school players around the state.

Zander Diamont said he plans to walk away at the end of the year after a bowl game. He said even though he’s walking away, he’s going to do everything in his power to help the Hoosiers win.

Diamont is known as a player who unlike most quarterbacks won’t slide before he’s tackled to avoid injury. Instead, he’s known for his toughness. That playing style is something reportedly he said would never change. But, that smaller size makes that type of attitude toward the game dangerous for a player’s health.

Diamont, who is 6 foot 1 inches and listed as 174 pounds, said he knew he wasn’t going to the NFL and the concussions in high school and the hits in college just started to add up. Because of his injuries, he made the decision for his junior year to be his last on a field.

“Coming back this year I knew I might not start, I might not play, I might not see the field,” said Diamont. “I also knew I could be really valuable to the team in whatever role that was and I was going to be 100 percent committed to that, and I think I pride myself that if you ask anyone else in the locker room they’d agree with that.”

Stepping away from the game does send a message to the younger generation, according to IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox.  The high school football season here in Indiana just wrapped up and Cox said the decision from Diamont is something high school players can learn from

“I think players are more aware today than they ever were. I think our methods of detection methods of tracking and our protocol for return to play and return to learn are so much better than they used to be,” said Cox. “I think the awareness is having people doing a self-evaluation say where am I right now and how am I going to continue.”

The Hoosiers became bowl-eligible for the second consecutive season for the first time in 25 years.