In a tweet on Friday afternoon, Syracuse offensive lineman Sam Heckel announced his retirement from football. The redshirt junior had one more season of eligibility remaining.

“I am no longer able to play the sport I love,” Heckel said in the tweet.

Heckel started at center in SU’s season-opening win over Liberty but sat out the rest of the 2019 season with an upper-body injury. In his three seasons with the Orange, Heckel played in 26 games, starting in 14 of them. In 2017, he started every game at left guard and led SU with 41 knockdown blocks.

Playing football at all once seemed unlikely for Heckel. As a toddler, he was diagnosed with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood disorder.

Eventually, Heckel became president of SU’s chapter of Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit organization run by college football players that benefits those with rare diseases. In his two years as president, SU’s chapter has raised more than $15,000.

Published on January 31, 2020 at 3:13 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman