The Penn State football career of defensive tackle Evan Hailes has come to a premature end due to continued problems with blood clots.
↵↵↵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 ...
↵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.
↵As Black Shoe Diaries notes, that Hailes was able to return at all after the problems with blood clots began is noteworthy in itself.
↵↵↵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.