Wrist injury ends Wittmer's football career

MILAN TWP. — Bryson Wittmer had a decision to make. It was easy and difficult at the same time. Wittmer is done with football after tearing the scapholunate ligament in his right wrist for the second time in three years. Wittmer was injured during a game against Hopewell-Loudon on September 5. Edison's bruising All-Ohio running back and linebacker underwent a MRI on his injured hand last Tuesday and the results were not good. The injury was similar to the one he suffered late in his sophomore season, but worse. Wittmer said the ligament "completely snapped and was blown in half." "They're gonna have to go back in there and pretty much redo all of that and add some new stuff," said Wittmer prior to last Friday's home game against Bellevue. "They said the lunate bone is not getting much blood, meaning if I were to get it hit one more time bad that it could completely explode because of how weak it is. "Being done for the season's gotta be the best thing for my future." Wittmer verbally committed to play baseball for the University of Louisville early in 2023. He will take his official visit to Louisville in late October. The left-handed pitcher was named Ohio's Division V Player of Year last spring. "I thank God that it's my right hand, because if it was my left hand my baseball career would be over," Wittmer said. "I would not be able to throw a baseball. You gotta think positive after an injury like this." Even though his future is in baseball, Wittmer was fully invested in football. He was a third-team Division V all-state running back last year and ends his Edison football career with 282 carries for 2,376 yards (8.4 average) and 40 total touchdowns. The 6-foot, 240-pound Wittmer also made 187 career tackles as a linebacker. Wittmer sat down with his father, David, and mother, Elizabeth, on Thursday night to discuss the MRI results and confirm that surgery was the best option. "When my dad got home from work, we sat down for two hours and just talked," Wittmer said. "We shed some tears knowing that I'm not gonna play the sport that I love. I love football just as much as baseball. I haven't fully wrapped my head around that I'm never gonna play again." Wittmer sat out a Week 4 trip to Johnstown Northridge before returning to the field a week later against Norwalk, knowing in the back of his mind that his time in football was running short. "I came back last week because we didn't have my MRI yet," he said. "I wanted to play as much as I can. I wrapped it up really good. I landed on it again and it was excruciating pain, but knowing it was probably my last game ever, I wanted to go out there and do my best. That was a good game to end on." Wittmer rushed for two touchdowns in a 45-14 win over the Truckers on an emotional night for the Wittmer family. "Seeing my mom crying after that Norwalk game really hurt me a lot," Wittmer said. "She loves watching me play every sport. Her knowing it was my last game really hurt her. I think it hurt worse to see her crying than knowing I wasn't gonna play again. My parents have done so much for me and I can't be thankful enough." Still, Wittmer woke up last Friday and considered playing against Bellevue. "My surgeon shut that down real fast," he said. Dr. Desmond Stutzman, a renowned hand surgeon in New Albany, Ohio, will perform the delicate wrist surgery. "It's like the ACL of the wrist," Wittmer said. "If I don't have this ligament, my wrist is not going to work." Wittmer, who plays a physical style of football, is no stranger to injuries. He was slowed by a sprained ankle and a concussion as a freshman. The first wrist injury occurred late in his sophomore season and he missed one game last year with a shoulder injury. The latest setback happened in the second quarter of the Hopewell-Loudon game. "I was running the ball and came back toward the sideline," Wittmer said. "I tried to catch myself and two guys landed on me. I felt my wrist snap." Wittmer will be in a soft cast after his surgery — which will be scheduled soon — and then undergo physical therapy. The hard-throwing southpaw should be ready to pitch for Edison's baseball team in the spring, but won't be able to bat. Wittmer plans on doing what he can to help Edison's football team — which has a 29-4 record over the last three seasons. "We talked as coaches about it. To have a player of Bryson's caliber for a few years is pretty awesome," Edison football coach Jim Hall said. "He gave everything he could to our program and we appreciate that. To have the same injury twice — and I've never even heard of it before — is just crazy. "We're just happy we had a chance to coach him. He's got a heckuva future ahead of him."