"I remember catching the ball and had gone a few steps to turn up field. The ball started to slip and I kind of looked down to go to grab it when I was dragged down to the ground. It wasn't even a hit. It was just throwing me down to the ground. I think that the way that my head went down, it just kind of went to the side, and that's pretty much how it happened," Gentry said.
The play resulted in a fracture of the fourth cervical vertebra and at the time of the incident left Gentry paralyzed and unable to move any limb.
OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel called off the rest of that day's practice and accompanied Gentry to the hospital.
Gentry regained some motion in his left arm while in the emergency room that day, but had no ability to move any other part of his body.
Word of the incident was released to the media, and an outpouring of support followed immediately, both from Buckeye fans and from others who have suffered similar injuries or serious injuries on the football field.
"JoeTheisman has called me a few times actually, he's been very helpful with the things that he's been through," said Gentry.
"Rudy called me when I was in intensive care, I was blown away by that. That was really neat.
"And there have been a lot of people that have repeatedly sent letters. People have given me insights to their family and wishing me well and doing a lot to help me through this. Adam Taliaferro called me while I was in intensive care as well. That was really neat because I remember hearing his story on the news and seeing everything that was involved with him, and also his dad has been very helpful with a lot of things," said Gentry.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=100 align=left border=0><CAPTION align=bottom>Since then, the support from friends, family, teammates and complete strangers has been continuous, and according to Gentry, it has made a difference.
"In the very beginning we got hundreds (of cards and letters) a day. I think we probably getting about 2,000 from the injury, and about 500 for my birthday," said Gentry who celebrated his Birthday last week.
"I was in awe of how much everybody really cares.
"It's really blown me away the amount of cards and the amount of support that I've gotten.
"I got a card that said that if one Buckeye is down, then we're all down. We're all kind of going through this together.
"I think with everything the support has been the greatest part. It's been amazing," she said.
If it were a poker game, onlooker would feel bad for Gentry for the hand he has been dealt, but listening to Gentry and his family, you would think that he had been dealt four aces, and everyone else at the table four of something less.
"You hear people's stories and hear about other people who are going through the same thing. Being over at Dodd (Hall at
OSU Medical Center) there were a lot of other spinal injuries there.
You look around and there's always somebody who is worse off than you. It really tears you apart. You feel bad for yourself in ways, but there are people who are worse off than you so you really have to be thankful. Things could have been a lot worse," he said.
"I feel a lot better. I do notice a lot of improvements. It first started off I could move my right arm a little bit, my left arm I could barely move at all. It's definitely gotten stronger. That's what the therapy that's going on right now is for, improving strength on the things that I do have. Obviously it's up to me and up to God on how much return I get in other parts of my body.
"They do a pinprick test, and if you can feel the pain and not just the pressure, that's a good sign. I can feel pain in my arms every once in a while. That's definitely come a long ways. Not so much in my legs. I can kind of tell the difference, but I don't feel the pain sensation of it.
"The goal is complete recovery, to walk again," he said.
Though he is making progress, his physicians have warned him that there is no guarantee of recovery from this type of injury. Some patients do, while others do not. Gentry is facing his problems with resolve, but is is also a realist regarding his recovery possibilities. He does all he can do, and has made plans to get on with his life no matter what happens. Gentry is moving out of the hospital this week and into an apartment with his sisters who are both
OSU students as well.
"I plan on attending class in the fall," he said.
"I ended up finishing one of my classes this spring. I dropped two and finished that one because I needed it to be declared officially as a double major. I really wanted to do that, and they were very cooperative in helping me out, understanding the situation and making sure I was able to go through all the steps to complete the class. I am signed up to take classes in the fall. My majors are psychology and speech pathology."
Despite his injury, Gentry says has no absolutely no regrets about playing football at
OSU.
"I really love playing receiver. I was more of a receiver in high school that I was a punter, but I was given the opportunity to come here as a punter. Once we got through camp and got into the season, we do drills where punters hop in with the receivers, because punters have to have the best hands on the team, so we were running routes and doing that. It just kind of progressed from there.
"Toward the end of my freshman season I was able to pretty much run with the scout teams. It took a while for me to learn the offense, but it was nice to be able to do that. Last season I was pretty much doing punting, then I would go over with the receivers and I ran scout team the whole season. That was a lot of fun. I was able to go to the bowl game as a receiver and a punter. That was a great experience. I really enjoyed that. Then this spring I was officially moved to receiver," he said.
Gentry was able to get out of the hospital to attend summer "midnight madness" which is the culmination of summer conditioning.
"It's kind of a team-bonding thing," said
OSU fullback Stan White. "We do things together, have some fun together before fall camp starts," said White.
Gentry was there for that event, and got a surprise.
"Our guys sang to him on his birthday. It happened to be our last workout of the summer and he came over. It was a midnight, and it was pretty neat," said
OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
His teammates also had a birthday gift for him.
"I got a jersey. It was a home jersey," said a smiling Gentry.
"That was really neat. I love that jersey. You're in the locker room before the game and its hanging in your locker. I used to love just holding onto it and just staring at it for a while before I put it on my shoulder pads and get ready to go out. That was a really neat gift and I really appreciated it a lot."
Gentry's medical expenses are covered by the NCAA Catastrophic Injury insurance policy which will cover him for up to $20,000,000 in expenses. It's a generous amount, but the kicker is that there is a $65,000 deductible.
OSU will make up whatever part of the balance that is allowed by NCAA rules, but the Gentry family will have some financial responsibly. There may also be other expenses not covered, such as perhaps a specially equipped vehicle if Gentry is unable to regain the use of his legs, special entry ways to his house or apartment, etc. According to Gentry's father, Bob, help has emerged to assist with those types of expenses.
"A couple of real good friends from Sandusky, attorneys, got together on their own, and organized and set up a trust fund for Tyson. It's an ongoing trust fund. There have been a couple of other benefits set up for him that were very successful," he said.
"It's set up through National City Bank, and it's set up under his name as a trust fund. National City is responsible for it and it's set up through all their branches in six or seven states," Gentry added.
While the Gentry family is grateful for the help, it is their desire not to use the money.
"Our goal is to give it away, because we can give it way when he walks," Bob Gentry said.
Should Tyson not need money, any unused funds will go toward helping others with similar injuries. That is the hope of the Gentry family. Tyson, however, has another hope. He hopes to just one more time stand on the
OSU sideline during a football game.
"I definitely have the goal of walking again but I have pictured that," he said.
"I have imagined what it would be like. That's definitely a goal to be able to do that, to show the fans and thank the fans for all their support."