When BYU linebacker Ben Bywater took a big hit on his right shoulder last year during the third quarter at Kansas, he knew he was in trouble, but he never thought it would end his career.
On Wednesday, it did — as he retired from football.
After 36 games, including 24 starts, Bywater’s playing days are over, and it was his lone Big 12 appearance that proved to be his last.
“I hit the guy and it felt like a 50-caliber shot right through my (right) shoulder,” Bywater told the “Y’s Guys” podcast in January. “It just popped.”
The pop required surgery to repair a torn labrum just months after Bywater went under the knife to repair his left shoulder. The body can only take so much, and Bywater’s frame had taken enough.
BYU loses its commander and active career tackles leader (247), but not before Bywater stole the show. An injury to star linebacker Keenan Pili in 2021 increased Bywater’s role with the defense and the sophomore responded by leading the Cougars with 102 tackles.
The following year, with injuries hampering Payton Wilgar and Max Tooley, Bywater carried the load again and finished with a team-high 98 tackles and three interceptions, including a 76-yard pick-six against SMU in the New Mexico Bowl.
Prior to the third quarter collision at Kansas last September, the returned missionary (Guatemala) and finance major was charging full steam ahead toward his dream of the NFL. The Big 12 season was going to be his proving ground to show scouts he could produce similar numbers against better opponents. But 32 tackles into 2023, Bywater was out.
His last blast will forever be a thud in his personal history, but it won’t erase an unprecedented journey full of irreplaceable moments.
Among his 36 games, three of them came in 2020, when Bywater learned what it was like to play in mostly empty stadiums during a pandemic. He was part of the Cougars’ 11-1 season that sent quarterback Zach Wilson into the NFL draft as the No. 2 overall pick.
The following year, Bywater took the field on Sept. 11 to face rival Utah one day after BYU was formally invited to join the Big 12. After an inspiring performance, he celebrated with fans who stormed the field after a 26-17 win.
Bywater was a big part of BYU’s Pac-12 sweep with victories against Arizona, Utah, Arizona State, Washington State and USC.
In 2022, Bywater made 11 tackles during BYU’s 26-20 victory over No. 9 Baylor in double-overtime and he capped a season-ending four-game winning streak with 11 more tackles and a pick-six to claim the New Mexico Bowl.
Last year, Bywater took the Cougars into SEC country and stunned Arkansas 38-31 before leading his teammates into BYU’s historic Big 12 opener at Kansas, where his playing days came to an end.
Without question, Bywater will be missed and even harder to replace, but his treasure trove of adventures, both highs and lows, will certainly entertain his kids for years to come, just as he wowed Cougar fans in a big career cut short by a bigger hit at Kansas.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.
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