Safety Dylan Harding Forced to Retire from Football

Former Jenks (Tulsa) standout Dylan Harding, a part of Oklahoma State’s 2014 signing class, announced he is being forced to retire from football after a diagnosis of spinal stenosis.

Here’s what he wrote on his Instagram page:

For everyone that hasn’t seen or heard, I got diagnosed with spinal stenosis that’s causing me to leave the game I’ve played since 2nd grade. I’ll never forget the young days of watching Bedlam games with my pops and dreaming of being apart of something that special. Thankfully I got that opportunity and I’ll never forget it. I just want to say thanks to all of my family, friends and people who have followed this dream of mine as it turned into a reality. I want to specifically say thank you to all of the coaches and my dad who have spent countless hours with me trying to better me as a person and a football player. I got to experience something I’ll never forget. It’s unfortunate I never got started to have the career many wish to have, but I gained some of my best friends through this all. I’ll forever be grateful. #GoPokes”

Thankful pic.twitter.com/uxsrDQIjxK

— Dylan Harding † (@dylanharding4) April 9, 2016

Harding was a key part as a true freshman in 2014 on special teams and even safety, playing in every game except one regular season and the Cactus Bowl in 2014, and appearing in 11 games last season as a special teams contributor.

It’s pretty cool to see a local prospect like Harding mention his times growing up watching Bedlam. For Harding, he helped produce one of the greatest Bedlam memories of all time. Remember the Tyreek Hill return in 2014? That return couldn’t have happened without a key block from Harding (No. 4 in the video below).