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Evan Hailes Forced To End Penn State Football Career Due To Blood Clots

The Penn State football career of defensive tackle Evan Hailes has come to a premature end due to continued problems with blood clots.

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Hailes, a redshirt sophomore defensive tackle, first developed a blood clot in his leg in the spring of 2011 while traveling to his grandfather's funeral. The clot spread to Hailes' lungs, becoming a life-threatening situation, and he was hospitalized for about a week ...

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Unfortunately, the blood-clot issues have forced him to stop playing.

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Nate Bauer reports that Hailes will stay with the program as a student assistant. He played two games for the Nittany Lions, recording a total of two tackles.

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As Black Shoe Diaries notes, that Hailes was able to return at all after the problems with blood clots began is noteworthy in itself.

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That he even managed to suit up in the Blue and White in those games was an accomplishment: the blood clots first developed before the 2011 season, on drives from State College back to Virginia for his grandfather's funeral service ... Hailes fought back from a life-threatening situation to at the least accomplish something that so few will ever be able to do.

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It's a shame that Hailes' career is over so soon, but at least he has his education to fall back on. Best of luck to him.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.