High school teen partially paralyzed in football game, surprised by dream college

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- 14-year-old Ju'Lius Byers recently suffered a life-changing injury in his first game as a freshman at Liberty High School.

Byers, a defensive back for the Liberty High School Blue Jays, suffered an injury in a defensive play during the second quarter of a freshman football game against Lee's Summit High School in early September.

"From the day we got in this and in the ambulance, he's got to fight," William Byers, Ju'Lius' dad, said. "You just got to keep fighting."

The extent of Byers' injuries consisted of three neck fractures, a concussion and an inner spinal cord injury. After a seven and a half hour surgery, Byers was able to move but his arms were still immobile.

Now, after nearly three weeks of rehab, he is using one pound weights on his wrist and moving his arms.

"I'm proud of his courage, his strength, his resilience too," William Byers said. "Just being here from the hospital to being here in recovery, it's just kind of overwhelming but it's also amazing."

Now out of the hospital and in rehabilitation, Missouri Western State University Football Head Coach Tyler Fenwick and University President Elizabeth Kennedy surprised the young boy with a jersey and an invitation to serve as honorary captain for the team's home game against Pittsburg State.

Last year, Byers visited MoWest and returned home with a dream of playing football for the Griffons.

"This was a cool surprise, a very special surprise," Ju'Lius Byers said. "I didn't think I would have a 13 on there… that's my number."

The Pittsburg State home game will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Spratt Stadium on MoWest's campus.

"When we talk about MoWest being a family, this is what we mean, and it's not just athletics, it's the university. He's going to be the special co-captain for the football team, he's going to do the coin toss... We are just excited about that," Kennedy said. "He has such positivity and he's surrounded by positive love from his family, and we just wanted to show him at MoWest, we care about our students and we consider him part of our family already."

Byers' family has put together a GoFundMe to support his recovery efforts.

"This is a very hard situation for people to go through and I don't want other people to give up," Ju'Lius Byers said. "I want them to keep fighting so they can get better and they can have their life back."